California Girl
by ppp090
Summary: *HIATUS* "I always liked Embry... ever since I was six and he was eight and Quil and Jake ran off. Embry stayed with me... he even tied my shoe lace so that I wouldn't trip. Yeah, I always liked Embry Call. He was my first kiss, you know?" Embry/OC. CHAPTER 18 UP. *HIATUS EXPLANATION INSIDE*
1. Prologue

_**California Girl**_

**Hi guys! This is part of my Imprinting Universe, but you don't need to read my other story, I Saw Her Standing There, to follow this one. My OCs and some storylines will be mentioned, but since this is from first person POV, it will be explained! :D If you did read my other story, thanks for reading this one! :D Hope you like it, it's a little different- not as funny to begin with, but it'll get better. Please review! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family and friends and The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them, but I'm only human- I will miss some.**

**1. **_Prologue_

* * *

_Carmen POV_

His hands were rough against my skin. He was gripping me too hard. I had quickly learned that the pained expression on his face plus the muscles made for a not very pleasurable experience. He didn't kiss me while it happened, he kept his chin on my shoulder, staring at what I think was graffiti on the door of the bathroom stall he'd pushed me into. He was done soon enough. He left the stall and immediately started washing his hands.

"Um... see you, I guess." I mumbled, twirling the ends of my long black hair. He glanced over his shoulder.

"See you..." He murmured, then turned and walked out of the bathroom, not saying anything else. I counted to five and tried to make my hands stop shaking, before exiting out of the boys bathroom, through the cheap, dirty, dim-lighted cafe and out into the darkness of the night, not looking to see if 'Logan' had stayed.

* * *

I'm Carmen Bird. I'm sixteen years old and I'm from San Diego, originally. On Monday, I was told I'd be moving a week on Friday. I'd spent three days locked in my room (not even leaving for school) crying. I had a perfect life in California. I didn't want to go to Washington and live in a small house with a shared bathroom and a sweet grandmother I hadn't seen in six years.

I never did figured out why she and my parents had fallen out.

"_It'll do you good, Carmen."_ Dad had told me. He was a museum curator. Very brainy, but sweet. He would've done anything to make me happy... until...

I mean, he used to call me Angel... I'd heard my dad call me Carmen only three times before...

_"You'll like it, Chica." _Mom was less disappointed, which made me feel like crap- had she expected this from me? It certainly felt that way.

I walked down the dark street, towards the bus stop. I could've cried. I'd not been allowed my car when I moved and I was forced to use public transport.

On Friday morining, I'd sat on a plane for two and a half hours, rode a train for two more hours, gotten a bus for forty-five minutes, then arrived at an empty house with a note saying:

_Carmen Margarita Bird, _

_Sorry I'm out, sweet girl, I'm next door and I will be for the next few hours, make yourself at home and take this change for the bus if you want to visit Port Angeles! Have fun! Be safe!_

_Love, Grammy Bird._

I'd locked myself in my new room for an hour before it gave me a migraine.

It was too white and there was an old treadmill in the corner of the room. My king-sized bed was left at the old apartment and I'd been left with a single bed. It hadn't been made when I arrived. It was just a mattress held up by a simple metal frame. My old room was red and had black furnishings. I'd loved how expensive it felt... it was luxurious and I liked having that.

When I left my room, I walked to the bus stop that was down the street from my house and got on the first bus that came. I ended up in Port Angeles, next to a cheap, rundown cafe with a boarded up window. I walked in and ordered water. I didn't know what I'd expect to find, but when my eyes met his, I knew what we'd end up doing.

He looked as bad as I felt. I never asked him what was wrong, though.

_"I'm Carmen." I smiled, sitting down at his table. He looked up and smiled lightly, but it didn't reach his eyes._

_"Logan." _

_Logan Heights... Sure, not exactly luxurious (or even safe, sometimes), but still... It was home..._

_"You're cute." I whispered. _

_"You're pretty."_

Next thing I knew, we were in the bathroom, his hands pulling through my hair, making me wince. I tried to make it feel a little bit romantic... I'd run my hands through his shaggy blonde hair and kissed his neck... he didn't care. We got what we wanted in the end.

* * *

_"Mommy... Daddy..." I wiped my eyes again. I couldn't be crying yet. I had to start strong... I could break down later. I walked into the living room. My parents were snuggled up together on the couch in front of the TV, a documentary about fossils playing that my father watched while my mother read her Cosmo._

_"Angel!" Dad grinned, turning the volume on the TV down. "Angel, what's wrong?" _

_"Miha?" The two stood up, the magazine and documentary forgotten. My parents truly loved me. _

_"I, um, I have to talk to you." I stammered, walking over to them. They pulled me into a shared hug and we all sat back down on the couch._

_"Carmy, you're scaring me." Mom said, slowly. I closed my eyes._

_"Well... you know how I've been dating Vince and all..."  
_

_"What about Vince?" Mom asked, her voice even more concerned._

_"Did he hurt you?"_

_"No, no!" Vince loved me! "I, um..." _

_I had to just tell them. I had to just say it._

_"I'm pregnant."_

_It was so quiet I wasn't even sure I'd said it at first- they were so silent. __Finally, they both moved off of the couch and into the kitchen. I could faintly hear them._

_"...Visit your mother... Do her good."_

_"...I don't know..."_

_"It's a small town... no influences."_

_"You're right." _

_And that was that. _

_I was moving to El Pusho, or whatever._

* * *

I walked into the house and kicked off my shoes at the door. As I pulled my jacket off, I walked into the small living room.

"Sweet girl!" Grammy Bird rose from an armchair and walked over to me slowly, pulling me into a hug. She was tiny and frail, but she loved me with all of her heart and didn't care that I was pregnant or that I got an abortion. I was still her perfect granddaughter. As I walked further into the room I realized that she wasn't alone. On the couch sat a man I didn't recognize... he was...

_A total freaking babe_.

He had muscles _everywhere_. He was tanned and shirtless. I was feeling weak at the knees. He was beautiful!

"Hey..." I said, slowly, putting my jacket over the back of an armchair, then sitting down.

The man was good looking too. I thought he was around twenty-five from his body, but his face had a boyish charm that I recognized...

"You remember Quil Ateara, of course? You were always such good friends!" Grammy said, gesturing to the man.

_It couldn't be_...

Quil Ateara was my childhood best friend- our dad's were best friends growing up. When my family had lived in La Push until I was six years old, we'd been best friends. For a few years after we moved, we continued to visit La Push in the Summer. When I was ten, we stopped visiting them. They came to visit us until I turned fourteen (two years ago), then Quil just stopped coming out to San Diego. Last year his mother hadn't even joined us.

"Quil? Woah." I stood up, as did he. He pulled me into a hug.

"Minnie!" He grinned, holding me against his bare chest.

_Wanna take this upstairs, away from my grandmother? _

"It's Carmen." I muttered. I was too _grown up_ for the nickname he always insisted on using. "When did you get buff?" I pulled back. "...And tall?"

He was always scrawny and shorter than me, even though he was older. It'd always been my advantage, plus I could totally beat him up.

"When you got all pretty!" He twirled my hair, but there was something in the way he said it that wasn't flirty... he didn't see me that way?

_Everybody sees me that way..._

"Quil was just coming to see you!" Grammy explained. I nodded and pulled out of his hold completely. As his body left mine, I realized how warm he was.

"Are you sick?" I asked, standing on my tip toes to rest my hand on his forehead. He shook me off and laughed.

"It's a genetic thing."

"Freak." I joked. He rolled his eyes and pulled me back into a hug. The warmth made me forget all about crappy Washington... it brought me back to the beach, the sand, the sun, the boys...

"Well, I've gotta head to work. See you later, Minnie." He kissed the top of my head and my grandmother's cheek, before leaving the room, and then the house.

"Such a lovely boy... very hungry." Grammy said, absent-minded-ly, sitting back down in her armchair. I sat on the couch and watched the TV as _Wheel of Fortune _played.

* * *

I woke up and stayed in my room. If I could stay here forever, I would, but, of course, I have to go to school. I was supposed to attend the Reservation high school, but because of building repairs, everyone was attending the school in the main town of Forks. I groaned at that. I'd be different.

My father, William Bird, was Quileute. My mother, Marisol Lopez, was Puerto Rican. I was a mix of the two. I had russet skin, black hair and brown eyes. I was pretty, I think... probably more than just pretty...

I mean, there had to be a reason why the guys liked me, right?

I checked the clock.

11AM.

I frowned and climbed out of bed. I pulled on sweatpants and a t-shirt, then, as the cold air gave me goosebumps, I groaned and pulled on a University of San Diego sweater and threw my hair into a ponytail.

* * *

"Grammy?" I asked, walking into the living room. She was watching _CSI_ reruns and talking to herself about who the murderer was. I smiled and sat down on the couch.

"Hi Carmen!" She grinned at me before turning back to the TV. "It's him! Clearly it's him!"

"Want me to make any lunch?" I asked. I was always good at cooking- Mom had taught me. She had learned from her mom, and her mom had learned from her mom, and so on.

"Oh! That would be lovely!" She grinned again, before yelling at the TV. I laughed and walked to the kitchen.

The cabinets and fridge were full of food. I wondered how my tiny grandmother had bought all of this, but figured I'd find out if I was living here for a while.

I made sandwiches for two and tea. Grammy told me that I should be chef or a very good wife. I laughed and realized that maybe this place wouldn't be so bad...

* * *

_Embry POV_

I sat at home alone. Mom was at work and I didn't have patrol. I should've been sleeping, but I couldn't.

One of my closest friends, Scarlett Hunter, was lying in a hospital bed right now. She had been attacked by Logan, our newest Pack member.

_God, was that guy a total douche._

I really liked Scarlett. I had liked her since the day I met her- I'd tried desperately to imprint on her (and gotten ridiculed for it later), but no, Seth had to go and take her.

I doubted that it would happen to me. The only un-imprinted ones were me, Leah and Collin... and Logan, now, I guess.

Brady, the second newest (at the time) wolf, had imprinted on Scarlett's best friend. It didn't seem fair. I'd been waiting for years to imprint- they were new. It wasn't fair at all.

_At least I wasn't Leah._

I hated to be mean to her (she had no problem being mean to me, of course), but it was true. She was bitter and probably will be until she imprints- if ever.

All I wanted right now is to imprint. I remembered the conversation I'd had with Scar before the accident.

_"I'm so sick of imprinting." I accidentally growled at her, which made her to put her hands up in surrender._

_"Woah, dude, calm down."_

_"It's not fair. I get to hear all day, everyday, about how amazing it is to have an imprint." I tried to calm down, but I'd been holding in these thoughts on patrol for so long... I had to get it out._

_"Well, you might imprint-"_

_"I won't." I snapped, lifting my head up and looking at her beautiful face. "It's supposed to be rare, but because the Pack is so big, it's 'okay' that more of us have done it."_

_"So?"_

_"So, more than half the Pack have done it, now. It's unlikely that I, Collin and Leah will imprint now." I looked down. I couldn't look at her anymore. It only made me feel more jealous of Seth for having her. "It's... it's not fair."_

_"Well, you're a total babe, Em, you'll find a girlfriend."_

_"Well, yeah, I guess... but I'm never gonna have that special connection my brothers have." I sighed... then I clicked what she had just said. "You think I'm a total babe?"_

_"Obviously." She rolled my eyes, which made me feel proud. I sat up and lifted my head up. Apparently a pretty girl thought I was a babe. Awesome! "So, you're looking for potential girlfriends now?"_

_"Well... if I do find an imprint, I don't want to be in a relationship and have to hurt someone..." I sat back again. I was always worried about that. I doubted that Quil would've had that problem- Paul certainly didn't- but I was worried about it. I didn't want to cause anyone any pain.  
_

_"Oh! You want a fling?" _

_"Um..." I looked up again, shocked. She was deadly serious._

_"Preferably a slutty girl, am I right?" She wiggled her eyebrows, and I nodded slowly, embarrassed. Slutty girls wouldn't be upset if I broke up with them, right? Well, that's what I hoped..._

But I didn't want a bunch of slutty girls- I wanted my imprint, right here, right now.

I just had to find her.

_I just had to find her._

* * *

**Please review my prologue! I hope you liked it enough to read my next chapter! Send me any questions or comments or concerns, thanks! :D**


	2. School

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! It means a lot to me that you all reviewed. 6 reviews is good to me for a first chapter- my other story got 4 reviews to begin with, so I'm really pleased! :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family and friends and The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them, but I'm only human- I will miss some.**

**2. **School

* * *

_Monday._

Monday morning came too quickly. I had stayed home all weekend with only Grammy.

I forced myself out of the lumpy bed, showered and got dressed. I packed some notebooks and pens and walked into the living room. Grammy was sitting in her armchair, watching _Homeland_.

"Quil says that he'll give you a ride to school today." She said, sweetly, sipping a cup of tea, not looking away from the screen.

"Really? That's nice of him." I sat down. I stood up when I heard a car outside. Grammy didn't seem to notice. Grabbing my over-sized handbag, I walked over and hugged her.

"Good luck, sweet girl." She grinned at me, then looked back to the TV.

* * *

I jumped into the large truck that Quil sat in. I seriously hope this school isn't shallow... the truck was seriously old and if I went to my old school in this then I'd be considered a loser- a poor one, at that.

"Hey." I grinned, hoping to dazzle him- maybe convince him to ditch school with me and take me to a secluded parking lot to just... _you know. _He gave me a small smile, but looked distracted. "Are you okay?"

"My friend got in an accident... I'm worried about her..." He murmured, wincing at the mention of an accident.

"Oh, I'm sorry." I was never good at comforting. Just ask my best friend, Juliette. When her parents got divorced, I'd patted her back and said '_hey, at least you're pretty'_... it didn't help much.

"It's fine... Sorry about being a downer... how's life, Min?"

"It's fine..." I trailed off, looking out of the other window. He didn't say anything else- he was too distracted about his friend.

* * *

I didn't go to homeroom, instead I went to the office. A sweet woman named Mrs Norris gave me a schedule and a map, before sending me into see the principle.

"Hello, Carmen?" He said as I sat down. He looked slightly exhausted, stressed and somewhat annoyed by his entire job, but still, he tried to smile and be friendly.

"Yeah." I smiled back.

"I'm Principle Mitchell, it's a pleasure to have to in this school." He seemed overly friendly. I was taken aback a little... I didn't want him to be a perv... my last English teacher was and had a huge crush on, like, six of my friends. Not me, though, I 'annoyed' him.

"It's nice to be here..." I lied. He didn't seem to notice. He stretched his hand out across the desk.

"May I please see your schedule?" I handed him it. He examined it closely, before giving it back. "Math is just outside the office, to the left."

"Thanks." I stood up.

"Hopefully, we won't meet again unless you're accepting an award." He smiled, standing up and walking to the door. He opened it and waved at me as I left. I nodded a goodbye and walked out, straight passed sweet Mrs Norris, down the hall, to the left.

* * *

"Hey, you're Quil's friend?" A _very_ attractive boy asked me, leaning over in his seat to whisper to me. He looked like Quil, but his face was more grown up. He was a hell of a lot sexier, too.

"Um, yeah?" I nodded, hoping my hair looked okay. This guy was _hot_ and I wanted him to think the same about me.

"I'm Paul." He stuck his hand out. I shook it. He was as warm as Quil.

_Must have that genetic thing._

"Carmen."

"Minnie." He smirked. I rolled my eyes, but giggled. He looked at my hand, probably expecting me to pull away, but I let it linger, trying to be flirtatious. His smirk fell and he leaned away. I frowned.

_Why was I so ugly in Washington?_

Seriously.

I'd of been sneaking to the bathroom with him right now if we were in California.

"Class, turn to page thirty and begin to work on the equations." The teacher called.

* * *

After that, I had PE. Ugh. I'd been forced to take it since I'd come here late. I hated PE, it wasn't that I was bad at it, but because of the fact that it was generally co-ed and I hated boys seeing me make a fool of myself, which I generally did. Some people who were Quil's friends were in the class, and apparently he was too, but he'd had to 'run' after he'd dropped me off

_Weird_.

They were all pretty bummed over the accident with their friend.

I been introduced to Collin, who seemed to _like_ me, which I adored. He was hot too, but was even more boyish than Quil. I wanted to pinch his cheeks and ruffle his hair the whole time. He also introduced me to Lexi, who he said was Brady's girlfriend, and that I'd meet him too. Collin seemed to hesitate around her, Lexi told me that he'd had a huge crush on her before she started dating Brady, his best friend. I'd also met Jacob Black, who I remembered from growing up here. He told me that Embry Call would be in the class too- someone else I'd been friends with through Quil as I grew up- but he was off with Quil.

We were taking a break from losing at volleyball when Lexi turned to me.

"So, you know Logan?" She asked. I froze.

_Logan from the cafe? Sad Logan? My sex buddy, Logan?_

"Um..."

"He... uh... saw a photo of, uh, you, at, uh, Quil's house... um..." She stammered. Something was going on, but I was too freaked out to care what.

"He told you?"

"Yeah... it wasn't on purpose, really... it slipped out..." She glanced away, before looking back and smiling lightly. "I love your hair."

That was a good enough distraction.

"Thanks! I love yours!"

* * *

Next was Biology where I sat with Brady. He was sweet, but again, uninterested. I decided that he was that in love with Lexi that I wasn't good enough... Lexi was really pretty, her skin was like Hershey chocolate and her hair was only a shade or two darker. Still...

_I'm sure I'm pretty enough to capture his attention for at least a little while._

No, he stayed on his phone, texting her under his desk, even while we were supposed to complete a test together. I'd done it alone and watched as other people in the class worked on it together in half the time I took.

_Ugh._

* * *

The next class was just as bad. I was in Spanish- a lesson I loved- with Collin and Brady, but they sat together at the back, and I had to sit at the very front alone. Apparently the girl who would be sitting with me was in some sort of bear attack and in hospital. This town was scary, I wanted to be in San Diego, on the beach with the sun in my eyes.

_San Diego, take me back?_

* * *

It was lunch, and I'd gone to my locker before lunch. I assured Collin he could go ahead, which made him grin, hug me, then run off. I walked into the cafeteria alone, my eyes drifting to the table that was half-tan, half-white-as-paper.

Paul, Brady, Collin, Lexi, Jacob and a pretty-ish girl sat on one half of the table. On the other side were people the color of the clouds in the sky of this dreary town, but they were all _beautiful, _like, a thousand times prettier than I could ever hope to be.

I decided that since Quil was still missing, I'd sit at the empty table in the middle of the room. I pulled out my iPhone. It was weird, I'd been addicted to my phone my whole life, but this weekend, I hadn't touched it. I turned it on to find 101 messages, 30 missed calls and 10 emails.

_I didn't know I had an email address._

"Carmen_!"_ I looked up to see Collin wave at me. "Come sit over here!"

I nodded and stood up, a little cautiously. I was always popular in my old school, but I knew as well as everyone else, new kids are _never_ immediately popular, even if they know the hottest kids in school.

I put my hand on a chair beside a pretty pale girl with the most gorgeous copper ringlets, but after receiving glares from everyone, I stayed standing.

"Where's Quil?" I asked. He still wasn't there. I was thinking that he could give me a ride home... I didn't wanna walk passed the trees if there were bears around!

"He's at work." Brady answered, still not looking at me- only at Lexi. I resisted the urge to frown at being ignored.

_He just thinks she's prettier than you... it's okay..._

"Hello, I'm Edward Cullen, this is Bella, Emmett and Alice Cullen and Jasper and Rosalie Hale." He motioned to the pale people sitting at the table. 'Rosalie' had a disgusted look on her perfect face like she'd smelled something bad.

"And I'm Renesmee Cullen!" The girl with ringlets who I was standing beside said. She smiled, but she seemed slightly upset. I guess she was friends with Bear-Attack-Girl.

Jacob was sitting beside her, his hand holding hers. I resisted the urge to cry, but it wasn't as bad as before. Ringlets was _so_ beautiful, much prettier than I could ever be. The two just seemed so different. I didn't understand how they worked, but, at the same time, they seemed to be madly in love.

Edward cleared his throat again, interrupting my thoughts.

"H-Hi, I'm Kim." The pretty-ish girl said, shyly. I walked over to the chair beside Kim and sat down. I realized just how perfect all of the Cullen-Hales were. They all seemed so different, but they were all pale with golden eyes (except Ringlets who's were brown) and they were all extremely beautiful with voices like angels. What a perfect family!

"Do any of you have AP English next?" I asked. Ringlets raised her hand, grinning. I was getting slightly creeped out by her enthusiasm. She was like a porcelain doll...

_Like Chucky_.

Edward cleared his throat again, and looked annoyed.

"What are you doing in English?" I asked.

"Shakespeare." She grinned her perfect-Chucky-grin, before turning to Jacob. "Wanna come over tonight and read Romeo and Juliet with me?"

"Renesmee." Edward scolded.

_Woah man, chill._

"Sorry." She mumbled.

"Did you know that Romeo and Juliet is pretty much all about sex?"

"What?" Edward looked at me, his eyes wide.

"Well, I mean, not _all_ of it, but most of it. I mean, come on, it's pretty much about a guy who wants to get some with a kid, you know?" I explained.

"You should talk to Jake-" Paul started, before he was elbowed by Jacob. Edward looked ready to kill me, so did Bella... come to think of it, all of the Cullens looked pissed. Oops, I guess.

"Well, I'll see you in English, Chucky." I patted her shoulder and stood up, grabbing my phone and purse.

"What did you call her?" Bella stood up, but I was already walking away.

"Bye!"

* * *

"Sup, Chuck." I sat down at a shared table with Ringlets. She shot me a glare, presumably at the nickname.

"Bella wants you to stop calling me Chucky."

"It's a friendly nickname, go with it. It's not my fault you remind me of Chucky." I rolled my eyes. She sighed.

"Call me Nessie."

"No thanks."

"Carmen!"

"Students! We have a new student today!" The teacher came in. She was _far too_ perky, if you ask me. "Miss..." She picked up a sheet of paper. "Carmen Bird! Stand up and introduce yourself!"

"Um, hey." I stood up and waved slightly.

"Where are you from and how is it different to Forks?"

"San Diego... it's sunny." The class laughed.

_I'm not joking, idiots._

"Thanks, Carmen! Take a seat!" I sat back down. Chucky giggled slightly. "Okay, kids! Act two, scene two, page five, Carmen, would you be Juliet, please! Larry, you can be Romeo!"

"Oh! Swear not by the moon, the constant- crap, sorry- inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circ-circle orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable." I blushed as I read out the old words and received laughs for them from Chucky. "Can it, Chuck."

* * *

I walked into my Study Hall classroom to see round tables of four, all full, except for one at the back, where Jacob sat alone. I was about to walk over to the table when the teacher walked in, looking startled to see me.

"Who're you?" He asked, looking flustered.

"Carmen Bird, I'm the new student-"

"Mmm, yeah, hmm." He put the stack of papers he'd been holding on the desk along with a mug of coffee. "I'm Mr Jet, nice to meet you... take a seat wherever and study whatever."

"Sure..." I walked to the pack of the classroom. "Hi." I smiled, sitting down next to him. He gave a small, insincere smile, before looking back down at a History textbook. "Is anyone else in this Study Hall?"

"Embry."

"Is he coming in today?"

"Nope." He said, popping the 'P'. I should've left the conversation, but I decided that I wanted the last word.

"Whatever. It's not like you ever used to like me."

"I don't like you because you're mean to Nessie." He said, gritting his teeth ever so slightly.

"I don't mind Chuck, sure, she's a little creepy, definitely annoying. Not as annoying as Lexi, of course, but still."

"Stop calling her Chuck, she hates that."

"It's a nickname. Friends have nicknames."

"So, she can call you _Minnie_?"

Quil.

_I'm gonna kill him._

"Has Quil told everyone?"

"Everyone used to call you Minnie, Minnie."

"Ugh, whatever. Chuck for Minnie. I'll call her Ness-"

"Call her Chuck, _Minnie_." He smirked. I groaned and sat back in my chair. He laughed and went back to his textbook.

* * *

_10 Years Ago._

_"Wait up, Quil!" I yelled. I was shorter than my friends- Quil, Jacob and Embry- but I was slowly catching up to Quil, which was annoying him a lot. At that time, I was the annoying six year old to their eight year old selves. _

_"Girls are gross, go away!" Jacob ran passed me too, running after Quil. I stopped running after them outside. La Push was a nice small town so kids could run from house to house without parents worrying. _

_I started to walk in the direction they'd gone in, when Embry ran passed me. Instead of following Quil and Jacob, he stopped and ran back to me._

_"Minnie!" He grinned and walked along with me. "Where are they?"_

_"They ran off. They said I shouldn't hang out with you 'cause I'm a girl and you're boys and 'cause I'm only six." I frowned._

_"Don't be silly! You're the best one of us, Minnie!" He suddenly put his arm out, stopping me. He knelt down and grabbed at my shoes. I looked down to see that he was tying my shoe lace for me._

_"Thanks!" I grinned an almost completely toothless grin and blushed dark. _

_I was the daughter to a girly mother who loved romance. I'd seen one done a thousand times in silly movies that made no sense. _

_I wanted to thank him for being sweet, so when he stood up, I leaned in. _

_I kissed Embry on the lips quickly, before blushing darker, giggling and running off in the direction of Quil and Jake. _

* * *

I walked home alone. I found a note telling me that Grammy was next door at a house that I had learned was the Ateara home. I walked to the next house and knocked lightly.

"Carmen! Just come on in! You don't need to knock!" Quil's mom invited me inside and into the living room.

"Sweet girl! You got my note!" Grammy said, not looking away from the small TV that played the news.

"Yeah, I-" I was cut off by the front door opening with force. Quil stormed in, not looking at us, and went straight to a closet.

"Mom!" He yelled, digging through a box.

"Yes, dear?" His mother asked, walking behind him.

"Do we have a family tree?" _What did he need that for?_

"Hm..." She thought for a second. "Ask your grandfather." He kissed her goodbye and ran out, still not seeing me and Grammy.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"You better get used to strange things happening in this town." Grammy said, quietly. I swear that I saw Mrs. Ateara shoot her a glare.

_Weird._

* * *

**So, I hope you all liked this chapter! :D Thanks for the reviews! That means a lot! :):):)**


	3. Continuing Week

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D **

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Bear Attack Girl (Scarlett) and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family and friends and The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**3. **Continuing Week

* * *

_Carmen POV_

Tuesday was much of the same as Monday, except for the fact that I met Seth and Jared, two ridiculously cute guys who again, were uninterested.

_I'd had to walk to school the next day- Quil was gone. I walked over to the people that I had met yesterday._

_"I'm Jared, this is Kim." A really hot guy said. He motioned to the pretty-ish girl, before kissing her cheek. I resisted the urge to scream that he was out of her league._

_Sure, she was pretty, but she was shy and plain (a confident smile and a slick of eyeliner would do her wonders) and Jared was hot and he knew it. Why would he go for her over me?_

_"Yeah, we've met." I smiled at him. He just grinned at Kim and hugged her close. Ugh._

_"I'm Seth!" A guy who was hot, but more boyish, said, grinning. He seemed a little bit sad though, which made me frown slightly. He looked like a constantly happy guy and being sad didn't really fit. _

_"Carmen." I shook his and Jared's hands. Collin came over soon enough and fawned over me. I was thankful for him. He reminded me that I was pretty- I was doubting myself around all this rejection!_

_At lunch I sat with them, only to receive glares for 'inappropriate comments' and 'general meanness' before they called their injured friend and I was totally forgotten._

* * *

_Wednesday._

The next morning Quil and I sat in his truck. He turned the key unsuccessfully three times before he slammed his hands against the wheel.

"I'll have Jake take a look later... come on, we gotta get to someone's house... hmm..." He jumped out of the truck. I quickly got out after him and ran after him as he walked down the street.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Seth won't have left yet. He's gotta pick up Scarlett and she leaves as late as possible." He explained, breaking into a run. I was sprinting to keep up with him, which, let me tell you, wasn't easy. I was wearing heeled boots and a skirt and running was never easy in either.

"Wait up!" I finally caught him when he stopped outside a small house. Seth came out, confused to see us, but happier than yesterday.

"Seth! We need a ride." Quil said, walking to a truck which I assumed was Seth's.

"Well, I'm picking up Scar-"

"Scarlett loves me, Seth, she wants to see me." Quil smirked, I thought I saw anger flicker over the smiling face of Seth, but it quickly faded.

"Hi! Come on, come on! We need to get Scarlett!" We all got into the truck, Seth telling me all about how _wonderful_ Scarlett was.

She had better be with the lack of attention I was receiving.

* * *

Scarlett was pretty. Really pretty. She was stick thin- she didn't have my curves (I wasn't all that sure that she had gone through puberty yet, actually)- but her face seemed grown up, a lot older than fifteen, like Seth had said she was.

She seemed to be unaware of her beauty and she wasn't wearing any makeup or even nice clothes- she looked comfortable and a hell of a lot warmer than I was. Her hair was short and sticking up in random places, which she kept trying to flatten with her hands and hurting herself by smacking a wrist covered in a cast against her head.

Seth picked her up and carried her over to the truck, putting her inside.

"Hi." She said quietly, looking at me.

"Hey!" Quil grinned, leaning forward on the seats. "This, Scar, is my oldest admirer-"

"Quil." I glared at him. He was _not_ telling people I was in love with him, especially not all of these mega hot guys who _could_ take an interest in me!

"Hi, I'm Scarlett." She stuck her broken wrist out for me to shake. I could only look at it before she took it back.

"Carmen." I smiled, trying not to laugh at her.

"So, what d'ya do? Get hit by a bus, or something?" I smirked. I hoped that she would see my humor.

"Bear attack, you know, the usual." She said, nonchalantly. I laughed. She seemed to get my humor and understand that I wasn't mocking her. "So, how do you two know each other?" She asked me and Quil.

"Our dad's grew up together, but he went to California..." He started.

"Where he met my mom..." I continued.

"And they've pretty much always been friends..."

"And Quilly used to come and visit every summer, but for the past two years, he's been missing." I folded my arms and gave him a playful glare. I kept forgetting to ask where he went. He chuckled at me then pushed me a little. It was only a small push, but I felt like he'd done it with full force.

"Work stuff." He murmured. Scarlett nodded, clearly getting what he meant. I certainly didn't understand.

"Where abouts in California did you come from?" She looked back to me.

"San Diego."

_Oh, San Diego, I miss you!_

"So, you leave one of the hottest states to come to the rainiest?" She chuckled, but I couldn't find the humor. I hated the rain. I always had.

"Yeah." I couldn't stop the frown, so I just stared out of the window at the cloudy sky. She shut up and turned back to talk to Seth.

* * *

I went to all of my classes listening to people calling me a slut and whore. They'd found out about me and 'Logan', a popular jock at this school. I was used to the names, hell, they were right. I was a slut back home and I'd be a slut here if I could get Quil's hot friends to look at me like I was pretty.

In Spanish, Scarlett was sitting in the usually empty seat next to mine. I walked over and moved her backpack to the floor, which she seemed uncomfortable at. She was sweet and funny and I already liked her. She was a virgin, which I had a good laugh at, which made her call me a bitch, which made me love her.

"I'm good at Spanish." I told her as she doodled in her notebook. "My mom's from Puerto Rico and she used to teach me."

"Awesome, I'm really funny, so I can entertain you while you work! Just ask Nessie- have you met Nessie? She's awesome! She'll tell you that I'm funny while she works. Oh yeah, can I copy your answers?"

I just nodded and started to write down the questions and answers from the board. She didn't copy them today, blaming her wrist, but I was sure that she was doodling fine with the other one. She was as funny as she said, so I decided that she could be my new Juliette; my new best friend.

* * *

I waved at Quil as I walked into the cafeteria alone and sat down at the empty table. I'd already told Quil about how creepy I found Nessie, which made him laugh and warn me about her family. I was even more afraid of them now. I was gonna keep my distance from them from now on. I just felt uneasy around them...

I pulled out my phone and called my best friend, Juliette.

"_Well, this couldn't possibly be Carmen Bird, because she hasn't called me in three days!" _Her voice filled my head, making me homesick.

"I'm sorry, J! I've just been trying to get settled into La Push-"

"_La Push? What sort of a name is that?" _I laughed at her disgust.

"It's freezing and it always rains. There's a beach but I haven't been down there yet."

_"The boys? Tell me there's at least one hot guy there!" _I glanced at the table of guys, but decided not to risk being heard- there table was pretty quiet.

"I'll tell you later..."

_"I've got to go see Mrs. Kenneth about my English paper, call me soon, okay? Love you." _

"Love you too!"

* * *

"Chuck, what's wrong?" I asked. She glared at Chuck, but then sighed.

"I feel... I feel bad for Jake-"

"Because you won't give it up?"

"Shut up!" She gasped, but then looked down, blushing slightly. "But... Yes... I don't want him worrying that I'll never want to or anything... I just want to wait."

"Just... tell him you had a dirty dream or something." I told her. She looked confused. "Then he'll know that you're thinking about it, plus he'll think you're hot."

"...I... I know _exactly_ what to do!" She grinned and went into a daze. I rolled my eyes and decided to skip last period.

* * *

_Thursday._

"Why d'ya look sad?" I asked Scarlett as I sat down in Spanish. She grinned, but it was totally fake. "Tell me, now."

"Seth's being a total jerk." She sighed.

"Maybe he's in love with me." I said, seriously, hoping to make her laugh.

"Bitch."

"Hooker."

"Slut."

"I really do like you." I grinned. I loved having my Washington-Juliette around. "I'll talk to Seth for you if you want."

"No thanks."

_Well, I'm a little offended, but I'll overlook it..._

_Bitch._

"I'll beat him up for you?"

"I'm good."

"If you say so..." I would totally be able to take Seth in a fight!

"Do you know Kim, yet?"

Kim... Sounds a little familiar... Maybe... The pretty-ish girl with Jared?

_No, no, her name was Elizabeth!_

"Hmm... Kim... Nope... Doesn't ring a bell."

"Oh, well, if you meet her and you like her, you can hang out with us and Embry on Saturday."

"What are you doing?"

"Sex and the City marathon. You in?"

_Sex and the City? AHH!_

Mom hadn't let me take my DVDs with me and I never got to look for reruns with Grammy's shows being on all the time.

"I think I love you." I told her honestly. She grinned and started telling me about how much Embry loved it. He was a Charlotte-type, sweet and innocent. I could totally see that.

I wondered if Embry would remember me, or, if he did, would he remember tying my shoelace and me kissing him? I always had- Mom had always told me how special a first kiss is (she was unaware of the fact that I'd already had my first kiss) and I took that into account- I remembered that it was Embry and was thankful for that when I was twelve and Max Paxton stuck his tongue down my throat at a party.

* * *

At lunch, Scarlett sat at my table. I thought that it was a joke or something at first, I mean, why would she sit with me when she and Chucky were best friends?

"May I help you?" I asked, putting my phone down, sending my text to Juliette.

"We're friends, right?" She smiled.

"Wouldn't go that far." I murmured, hoping she'd hear me and think I was so funny that she should be my best friend instead of Chucky's. She glared at me, making me laugh. She was adorable, really. "Fine, you can be my friend if it means that much to you."

"I hate you."

"Girls usually do." I told her, honestly. Most of the girls that had been calling me a slut were girl's with boyfriends who had checked me out. "What do you have next period?"

"Chem. Then study hall, but I always ditch, teach' never takes attendance." She told me, ripping open a bag of gummy stars and eating five at once.

"I have English then study hall." _  
_

"Who with?" I gave her my schedule, but I didn't think we were in the same class- Jacob hadn't said anything.

"Guessing I'm not ditching last period?" I sighed, I wanted to be away from Jacob, if I'm honest. I picked up my phone to see a text from Juliette. I didn't open it- I was distracted by Quil waving his hand behind Scarlett's head. "Hi Quil!"

Quil and Seth sat down, Seth started fawning over Scarlett, but hesitated a little. I wondered what had happened since yesterday to make the two fall out. I'd have to convince Chucky to tell me next period.

"Em's in your Study Hall too." Quil said, taking the Tupperware box of pasta I had and tucking into it. I didn't mind- I wasn't eating it anyway.

"Em?"

"Embry, obviously." Quil said, his mouth full.

_Well sorry I'm not a mind reader. Jerk._

"Oh! I love Embry!" I told them. I grinned. "I remember when I was six years old and I was playing with you and Jake and Embry and you and Jake ran off and Embry stayed behind with me so I wasn't alone!" I didn't mention the kiss, they'd probably think I was obsessed with him or something.

_Well... maybe if puberty did to him what it did to Quil and Jake..._

"So you and Em, huh?" Seth grinned. I was about to make a witty remark about his obsession with Embry, when they all looked at the guys, who were standing up.

"See you guys." Quil murmured and left with them. Who was gonna drive me home? Who was gonna sit with me in study hall if Jake and Embry were gone?

"Where are you guys going?" I asked, but received no answer.

"I'll call you later, Scar." Seth kissed Scarlett and left. I was getting pissed. I turned to Scarlett, who looked a little bit worried.

"Where are they going?"

"...Uh... Work stuff, I guess." She lied. "Where do you live?"

"You know where Quil lives? Next door to him." I told her, she grinned and suggested we walk home together because she was visiting her friend Emily.

* * *

"Where did they go?" I asked Nessie.

"Work." She murmured.

"Oh. What's up with Seth and Scarlett?"

"Seth's been acting weird since last night. Jake says he'll tell me as soon as he found out, but don't expect me tell you."

"Why not?!"

"Scarlett is my best friend and if she wants you to know, she can tell you!" She snapped.

"How'd the whole sex-thing go last night?" I asked, curiously. She went bright red.

"Terrible! Scarlett and Daddy found out and told everybody and now I'm not allowed to see Jake without my parent's supervision!"

I laughed. A lot.

"Shut up! That's your fault!" She nearly yelled at me, causing the class to look at me crying with laughter and her yelling incoherent curse words at me.

"Cullen, Bird!"

* * *

_Embry POV._

I walked home at normal human pace, trying to clear my head. Scarlett's family dinner had been a disaster, but her kid sister, Skylar, was sweet and looked almost exactly like Scarlett, except she wasn't as tiny and she had dark roots that led into a fake blondish color. I still talked to her and let her flirt with me.

Everyone was talking about me dating more girls than I've done, so I amused them and hid my thoughts during patrol. I wasn't having _anyone_ know that I was still longing for my imprint.

Where was she? Why hadn't I been lucky and had my imprint find me?

Emily had been related to people we know (obviously that hadn't be _great_, but still, she had come), Kim was right next to Jared the whole time, Scarlett had lived in Forks her whole life, Rachel had lived down the street from Paul her whole life, Nessie was Jake's best friend's niece, Claire was an imprint's niece, Lexi was friends with an imprint...

Something had brought the imprints to their wolf. If I had one, she should be here by now, surely? Unless this was punishment for making fun of Jake and Quil for imprinting on babies. Mine was probably still being developed in a nice lady somewhere.

Okay, I'm officially creepy now.

_I just need my imprint._

* * *

**I think that I'll do the meeting next chapter if you want... I'm unsure. Let me know! I value your opinions and I want to write what you want to see! :) Thanks!**


	4. At Last

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **Etta James

**4. **At Last

* * *

_At last,  
__My love has come along..._

_Carmen POV_

I ditched Study Hall and met Scarlett at the front of school. On the way home we discussed TV and music and everything else we could think of. I walked inside and grabbed the small piece of notebook paper off of the coffee table before falling back onto the couch.

_Carmen Margarita Bird, _

_I'm at the grocery store in Forks with next door's Jenny Ateara, so I shall not be home for a little while. If you are hungry, Jenny has prepared dinner for Quil Ateara and you can have some of that. _

_Love, Grammy Bird._

I resisted the eye roll at how formal her notes seemed to be and stood up. Maybe I could get Quil to tell me where everyone went, or at least make him feel bad for forcing me to walk home.

* * *

"Hello?" I called out, walking inside the house. The door was open, just like Grammy's always was. It was weird how safe La Push was- back home, we had three deadbolts on our apartment, two key locks and a chain.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed three huge bowls of spaghetti out of the fridge. _Who the hell was she expecting to come over?_ I heated up quarter of one and started to heat up a a sauce from a bowl that sat on the counter.

"Minnie?" I turned to see Quil walk in, some of his friends following. "What are you doing here?"

"Um, your mom said that I could eat some of the food she'd made..."

"I told you she would've made something!" Jared grinned and ran over. "...This it?"

"N-No, I only made a little..." I was stammering. I'd never been alone with all of these _very _buff guys... I didn't _think_ they'd hurt me... but you never know. Back home, a girl in the grade above me got attacked by some guys that she thought were her friends! I didn't want to end up like that!

"Awesome, you can make that too." Jared informed me. A beautiful girl- far prettier than me or even Scarlett- walked in and sat down at the giant kitchen table. She had the scowl of a girl who'd been dumped.

_Like she couldn't get a boyfriend in a heartbeat..._

"Leah, Carmen, Carmen, Leah." Quil said, sitting across the table from her. Jared opened the fridge and took the rest of the spaghetti out, putting it next to me.

"_The kid took my clothes!"_ I looked up to see a hot, tan, muscular _babe_ wearing only cut-off jeans and a tight t-shirt walk into the room, his crafted-by-god-face looked angry.

_Please be one of the ones that finds me attractive. PLEASE!_

He was undeniably hot. He was on the same steroid diet as Quil and Quil's friends, but I didn't care. Muscles were hot, no matter how they were achieved and being able to see the outlines of abs and pecks through clothes was _amazing_. I, myself, was definitely a fan of steroid use, you know, especially if it results in _this_.

He didn't notice me at first. He walked straight in to Quil._  
_

"The kid took my clothes! Who does that? I left them by a tree for just a second and they were gone! I had to search through the woods for-!"

"Minnie, how's the food coming along?" Jared interrupted the very inappropriate thoughts I was having and Hot-Guy's complaints.

"Shut up, Jared." I huffed. I glanced back to Hot-Guy to see him looking at me. His face was as beautiful as his body and a little familiar. His dark brown eyes were wide and his mouth was open. He wasn't just looking, he was _staring_.

_Not that I minded._

"Minnie, I'm starving!"

I started opening up cabinets, looking for a bowl big enough for all of the food I'd been making. I found a huge one in the top cabinet, but without my high heels, I had no chance of reaching it.

"Let me." A warm body was suddenly very close to mine (_yay!_) and arm reached passed me to get the bowl down.

"Thanks." I murmured.

_You idiot! Go back to being flirty! You can flirt with a piece of fruit! How can you not be flirty with HIM?_

"Embry, leave Minnie alone! She's trying to make dinner!" Jared demanded. I had to make an effort to stop my jaw from dropping.

Hot guy was Embry?

_Yes, everyone, my first kiss was with him._

"Nice to see you." He said, quietly. I gasped when I was pulled against his hot chest. If he wasn't holding me, I would've been on the ground. I wrapped my arms around his body and almost cried at how perfect my life felt right now.

Juliette would die when I told her.

"Way." I mocked. I pulled away, realizing that me crying on him would be pretty awkward. He stayed standing by me. "Quil, where are the plates?" Embry reached into a cabinet and pulled out a stack of five, holding them easily with one hand. _Steroids._

"Smells good, Min!" Jared grinned.

"It's Carmen."

"I like Minnie." Jared said.

"I like Carmen." I told him.

"Well _I_ like Minnie."

"Jared." Embry said, sternly.

"What's wrong with you?" Jared asked, before he grinned. "Oooooo!"

"Oh, Em." Quil rolled his eyes and stood up. "Come on, we should go see Sam-"

"Ugh." Leah crossed her arms and seemed to get angrier.

_What the hell was going on?_

I glanced at Embry, who seemed to be the center of this weirdness. He was still staring at me, un-moving.

_Was this about_ _me__?_

"What's going on?" I asked everyone.

"Nothing... Come on, Em-"

"I'm not leaving." Embry said. Quil rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Why you gotta be so difficult?" He whined.

"Leave him, he's fine... for now... anyway... Minnie! Food!" Jared grinned. I rolled my eyes and started putting the food onto the plates.

"What's going on?" I asked Embry. He just shook his head and smiled at me. I lifted up two of the plates and carried them over to the table, setting them in front of Jared and Leah. Jared practically squealed with joy while Leah glared as if I'd done something to personally offend her. Embry brought the other three over with ease and handed them out.

"Thanks." I murmured, sitting down in the seat between Jared and Quil. Quil jumped up and moved down a seat and Embry sat next to me.

I gasped a little bit when they all started eating. They weren't like this at school- must be 'in the comfort of their own home' thing. Every time I looked up, Embry was staring at me. He would look down, pretending that he hadn't been looking when I knew he had. It made me uneasy. I was still eating when they were done, so I offered my plate to the rest of the table, before excusing myself to the bathroom.

* * *

I sat on the edge of the bathtub, rubbing my stomach. I felt sick. I'd probably eaten too much too quickly. My stomach felt like it was full of butterflies. My chest was tight and throbbing. I felt slightly dizzy. I ran my hand under cold water and pressed it to my forehead. I took a deep breath and opened the door. Embry was standing right outside of it, blocking my way out.

"Are you okay?" He sounded honestly concerned, which I found kind of creepy. Sure, Embry was smoking hot, but he was getting clingy and we didn't even know each other.

"I'm fine, thanks." It sounded harsher than I meant to, but it got him to move out of the way and let me out. I walked outside to see Quil putting the dishes in the sink. "Um, you need help washing up?"

"No thanks, I'm gonna make the kid do it later." Who was this kid?

"Oh, okay... I guess I'll see you guys." I waved lightly and turned to walk to the front door, but Embry was standing in front of me.

"You're leaving?" He sounded heartbroken. I nodded and walked around him, pretending like I didn't hear how upset he was. His hand grabbed my wrist as I opened the front door. "I'll see you around?"

I just nodded and tried not to run to my house in fear.

_La Push people are psycho!_

* * *

_Embry POV_

There she was. My imprint. I found her. I finally found her! She was the most beautiful girl in the whole world and she was mine. _Mine._ She always would be, as well.

"Excuse me." She sounded uncomfortable, like she was nervous. She stood up and went to the bathroom. Jared grabbed her half-finished plate and began to eat the rest of her food. I stood up and walked to the door.

"Em, let the girl use the bathroom." Jared said, his mouth full. I rolled my eyes and ignored him. I stood by the door, when I heard her moving. She opened the door and I looked for any signs of pain. Her forehead was slightly wet, like she'd splashed water on it.

"Are you okay?" I asked. She hesitated before answering.

"I'm fine, thanks." She sounded a little annoyed, so I moved to let her go. "Um, you need help washing up?"

"No thanks, I'm gonna make the kid do it later." Quil said. I smiled. He was always making Logan do menial chores for him. I guess it was his revenge for existing or something.

"Oh, okay... I guess I'll see you guys."

She was leaving? She couldn't leave me. She had to stay and fall in love with me!

"You're leaving?" I couldn't hide how hurt I was, but she didn't seem to notice. I grabbed her wrist before she could leave me. "I'll see you around?"

I wanted to say that I loved her and that I'd miss her, but she seemed creeped out. It wasn't fair! Jared's imprint had been obsessed with him, so when he was clingy, she loved it. Scarlett was just as clingy with Seth as he was with her. Nessie and Jake had always been best friends and spent every second together.

I got the short end of the stick. My imprint apparently didn't like me. My heart broke at the thought.

She just nodded and left.

I wanted to run after her and tell her what she meant to me and that she couldn't leave me, but I stopped myself.

"Dude, you are _so_ whipped." Jared smirked.

* * *

"Let me go." I said to Quil, exhausted. We'd been on the floor at Emily and Sam's front door for around three hours. He was sitting on my chest, holding me down. I'd been trying to fight him off, but my heart ached and I didn't feel like pushing him any more.

"You'll scare her." He replied in the same exhausted tone. He was bored of sitting here too.

"Embry, I'll switch patrol with you." Jake walked in, chuckling at us.

Jake usually did midnight to two AM and four PM to six PM. I always did patrol during first and second period at school- Chemistry and PE- and seventh period- Study Hall- to four PM. If I switched then I'd have plenty of time with Carmen!

"Thanks, man!" I grinned.

"...But you do have to cover my patrol on Saturday..." He left quickly, and Quil pushed my face down to the ground so that I couldn't go after him.

* * *

I was running the border at midnight. I felt kind of bad though, Mom was finally seeing that I wasn't a bad kid... But now I _had_ to see Carmen so I _had_ to sneak out.

The border was near Scarlett's house, who lived across a small park from Quil, who lived next to my imprint. The woods surrounded that park and the back of Quil and Carmen's house so it wasn't really my fault that I was now standing in the trees watching her look thoughtfully out of the window.

She looked as though she was searching for something, and she had the most adorable look of concentration on her face- her eyebrows scrunched together as she bit her lip making them look even more kissable-

_Please shut up. Really, I'm begging you._

Sorry, Jared... I just... miss her.

_Yeah, I know... listen... there's no threats or anything... so... I'm gonna head to Kim's for a little while... I'm not saying that you should go see Carmen or something... but... I won't be here..._

I love you, Jared.

_Yeah, yeah, whatever._

His thoughts disappeared.

I wanted to figure out what to say before I went over. She would think I was idiot or something if I tried to speak to her now. I needed to organize my brain and decide what to tell her before I made a fool of myself and made her hate me forever.

Her eyes narrowed, making her look even cuter. She was looking at something... someone...

She was looking at _me._

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Thank you to everyone who followed and favorited and thanks a bunch to my reviewers! :D:D:D:D It means so much! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! :D**


	5. Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **Def Leppard

**5. **Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad?

Thanks for the anonymous reviews!

* * *

_Have you ever wanted someone who you just couldn't have?  
_

_Carmen POV_

I stood in my room, looking out the window at the woods. I was looking for bears, wolves and couples getting frisky.

Bears were always dangerous and apparently promiscuous here- I'd heard of two attacks already. One on Scarlett, one on her friend, Emily.

Wolves roamed in the woods, I knew that for sure. The howls carried on all through the night, until last night, when I got up, opened the window and started yelling at them to shut up. They seemed to listen, and I heard significantly less howls.

The frisky couples were just to keep me from being bored.

I was standing in pajama pants and my University of San Diego sweater, my hair pulled back into a ponytail and my face clean of makeup. I was about to go to bed, when something caught my eye. In the line of trees, something huge and grey stood. I squinted my eyes to see it, but I couldn't make it out in the dark.

I don't know what possessed me to do so, but I pulled on my tennis shoes and ran out of my room into the darkness of the hallway. I snuck through the backdoor and into the back yard. The huge grey blur seemed to have disappeared, but I could see something through the branches. I ran out further, ignoring the cold and ignoring the voice telling me to run inside and hide under my bed until Mommy and Daddy rescued me.

"Hello?" _Because a giant grey monster is gonna say 'hey, how are you?'_.

I was about to step into the line of trees when the giant grey monster stepped into my line of sight. I jumped backwards. I thought it was a wolf, but it must have been on steroids or something. It was _huge_! Easily the size of a horse or bigger. I tried to scream, but no sound came out.

"Go!" I grabbed a twig from the ground and threw it at it. It didn't react, instead it just stepped forward. "Go away!"

It walked up to me and put it's head down, I stood completely still. I'd wait for it to get bored and run away... or eat me. It lifted it's head up again and I jumped backwards. It whined as if it was _hurt_ that I was afraid.

"Y-You, leave me alone." I took another step back, but it walked forward to me and put it's head down again. "What do you want from me?"

It bumped it's nose into my stomach, it's head still lowered. I hesitantly put my hand up and slowly moved it over to it's head.

"Y-You want me to p-pet you?" I asked, my hand hovering over it's head. I think it nodded, so I let my hand touch lightly on it's head.

It's fur was a lot softer than I had expected. I scratched behind it's ears and brought another hand up. It's eyes fell closed and it made a sighing noise.

"You're like a big puppy." I giggled. It made a whining noise, but it sounded happier. "Are you a boy or a girl?" I went to duck and check, but it bumped me again. "Well, someone's shy."

It bumped me again and then lifted it's head up and licked me.

"Ew, that's gross, don't do that!" I wiped my face, but it did it again. "You must be a boy." I muttered. It nodded it's wolf-head and I think it smiled. Or showed it's teeth to scare me. I tried to think positively, so I went back to scratching his ears.

He lay down on the ground, so I sat down and crossed my legs. His big paw's sat right in front of me. I stroked them, which made him put his head down and close his eyes. I got that weird feeling in my stomach again. Butterflies.

"I'm Carmen, just so you know." I instantly felt stupid. "Not that you understand. You're a wolf." He looked up, like he was listening. "Can you understand me?" He nodded. "Woah."

He did the wolf-smile/intimidation-thing again and put his head back on the ground, watching me.

"You have pretty eyes." I murmured. He did his wolf-smile and watched me as I reached to stroke it's wolf-cheek. "I've never had a dog before. My mom's allergic. I wonder if she'd be allergic to you."

He did what I think was a laugh.

"You better not be laughing at me, wolf." I grinned. _Look at me, best friends with a wolf._ "You need a name. What can I name you? Walter?" He shook his head, no. "Walden?" No. "William? My dad's name is William. Is your name William?" No. "I'm running out of W's... How about... Mr. Wolf?" He nodded, smiling.

_Seriously, this wolf is my new BFF._

"You can be my best friend, if you want." I told him. He nodded. "Okay, Mr. Wolf, we're best friends." I laughed at the thought. "So, do you have any wolf-friends?" He nodded. "Do you have a wolf-girlfriend? There's a name for that... I'll Google it later." He shook his head, profusely. "Okay, okay, you don't have a girlfriend..."

I was about to talk more, when he snapped his head in the direction of Quil's house, before he stood up.

"Is someone coming?" He nodded. "I better get inside..." He nodded again and turned to leave, looking sad. "Will you come back?" He wolf-smiled and nodded. I stroked his back one last time, before running back home, Mr. Wolf ran into the woods, just as the Ateara backdoor was opened and Quil walked onto his back porch before I could walk inside.

"Carmen? What are you doing out here?" He asked, suspiciously. He glanced between me and the woods. Had he seen me sitting with the wolf?

"Just taking a walk." I fake smiled and walked inside before he could say anything else. I ran into my room and checked the time. One AM. What was Quil doing up now anyway?

* * *

_Embry POV_

I headed back to patrol and ran along the border when Quil's thoughts hit me.

Oh, hey, Quil.

_Dude, were you just phased in front of Carmen? _

He was pissed, I knew that.

_Of course I'm pissed! I don't think that you would her her... but..._

He thought about Emily. She was proof that a wolf _could_ hurt his imprint. I would never hurt Carmen, though! I would never put her in danger!

_I just don't think you should be phased around her._

But... She only likes me when I'm phased...

_Em, don't. I'll see you later._

He phased out, leaving me alone in my mind.

* * *

_Carmen POV_

_I ran through the woods as fast as I could. I was running from something, but I wasn't afraid. I came to a clearing and turned around. The giant grey wolf with black spots on his back that had sat with me in my backyard tonight ran up to me. I grinned as he ran into the trees. _

_"Where are you going, Mr Wolf? Come back!" I yelled, but he didn't, instead, Embry walked out and came over to me. He pulled me into a tight hug._

_"I love_ _you."_

* * *

_Friday._

I sat up and checked the time. Five AM. I rubbed my eyes and accepted that I wasn't going back to sleep. I got out of bed and went into the kitchen. I fixed cereal, before packing my purse for school. I chose my outfit- a yellow sundress with a denim jacket and my high heeled boots. Six AM. I heard Grammy go into the living room to watch the news. When the TV turned on, I went in the shower. I was ready early, so I sat with Grammy, watching the uneventful local news. I glanced out the window to see rain.

"Not the best day for such a pretty dress, sweet girl!" Grammy commented. I frowned, but smiled at her.

"Thank you." I didn't care about the rain. As long as I looked cute. _Thank god I'd worn waterproof makeup today_. I really didn't want any cute guys thinking I was a raccoon. "I'm gonna head next door to wait for Quil."

"Have fun at school, dear!"

* * *

My umbrella had worked fine when I got to the Ateara porch. I let myself in, not wanting to wait in the cold just because I was to shy to listen.

"Quil?" I called out into the house, walking through to the kitchen. I rolled my eyes as Embry and Quil sat eating.

_God, what? Is he obsessed or something now?_

_Because it's not obsessive to have a dream of him saying 'I love you'._

I shook off the thought and put my umbrella down at the front door.

"Carmen!" Embry abandoned his breakfast and came over. "You look really pretty."

"Thanks." I mumbled, walking passed him. He was _seriously_ weird.

"So... uh... Carmen... you were up late last night." Quil said, nervously. Why was he nervous?

"So were you." I sat next to him. He glanced back to Embry, and the two seemed to have a silent conversation. "So, school?"

"We have Study Hall together." Embry grinned. I nodded.

_God. I forgot about that. I would be nice (or really mean) to Chucky and get a reaction from Jacob and I wouldn't even have to talk to Embry!_

Wow, I'm a genius.

* * *

The entire day I was told by people that Embry was great guy. I got involved in PE so that I wouldn't have to talk to him, but while we were changing, Lexi told me how great he was. I had been given no refuge during Spanish- Scarlett hadn't even come in to class. Bitch. At lunch, I sat at my table. Lexi and Kim sat down with me.

"What the hell do you freaks want?" I asked. Kim looked a little offended, but then looked down, nervously.

"We're being nice." Lexi scoffed.

_Nice. Girls are never nice to each other! _

"So... what'd you do last night?" Kim asked, shyly. There seemed to be something else to it... Had Quil told Jared and her?

_Had Quil even seen me and my wolf?_

"Had dinner with Quil, Jared, Leah and Embry." I said, simply. She rolled her eyes slightly.

"I knew that."

"So, you and Jared done it yet?" I changed the subject. She blushed bright red and I swear that at the guy's table, Jared choked on his drink as if he'd heard.

"That's, uh, th-that's none of your business!"

"That's a no." I rolled my eyes.

"How do you know?" Lexi asked, honestly curious.

"I have a sixth sense for it. You're not a virgin."

"She's right!" Lexi gasped. I rolled my eyes again. _She's so damn annoying_.

"Obviously." I scoffed. "So, Kimmy-"

"It's Kim."

"Kimmy, why haven't you and Jared done the deed yet?"

"It's personal!" She blushed bright red and her voice raised thirty octaves. "Why haven't you and Embry?"

"Me and Embry? No way. I don't go for desperate guys."

"What?"

"I don't like it when guys are clingy." I explained. "Like, my last boyfriend, Vince, totally in love with me, but he was a total jerk when I first met him. It was hot."

"That's not a good thing!" Lexi scoffed.

"I mean, with casual sex, it's all about hotness, you know?" I told them. "I guess I could do a one night stand with Embry-"

"Don't do that with Embry!" Kim gasped. I shrugged and picked up my purse.

"I'm going to nap in the nurses office. Tell Chucky I'll miss her." I turned and walked out.

* * *

"My headache is much better, thanks." I faked a smile at the non-caring nurse and walked to Study Hall.

"Hello, Carmen." Mr Jet said in a monotone voice, not looking up from his computer screen.

"Hey, Mr Jet." I walked further into the room and groaned. Embry was sitting alone at the table me and Jacob usually sat at.

_I'd rather sit with my new enemy, Jacob, than creepy-stalker-desperate Embry._

I sat down in my usual seat and pulled out my notebook. When people had started to talk about how awesome Embry was, I'd started doodling. By third period, I had drawn the outline of Mr Wolf. I wasn't artistic, and it wasn't very good, but it made me smile, thinking about seeing him again.

"Hi, Carmen!" Embry grinned. I gave a small, fake smile and went back to shading my wolf. "Do you feel better now? Kim said you went to see the nurse."

"I was tired... I couldn't sleep last night..." I muttered. "I took a nap."

"Oh... Why couldn't you sleep?"

_I had a dream about you and my wolf._

"Just couldn't." I mumbled, hoping I wasn't blushing or anything.

"What are you drawing?"

I pulled my book back against my chest. He'd think I was crazy if I told him about my wolf! I didn't want to show him, but as he stretched his arm out across the table and his very familiar, deep, brown eyes bore into mine, I placed my book in his hand.

* * *

_Embry's POV_

Me! She'd drawn me! It was beautiful as well. She was truly putting effort into making a drawing of me look good!

"It's really nice." I murmured. I didn't trust myself to look into her eyes. I'd spill all about wolves and phase for her to see if I looked into her beautiful hazel eyes. I handed it back to her, carefully. She took it and began shading it again.

"Thanks."

"...So..."

"So..."

"You doing anything later?"

"I don't think so." She kept her head down. _Do I ask her out? She did say she didn't like desperate guys..._

"Oh, okay." I looked down, but I didn't miss the surprised look on her face.

"Are you doing anything?"

"No, I don't think so."

"Oh... Maybe I'll see you at Quil's or something?" _Was she almost asking me out? YES._

"Maybe."

* * *

_Carmen POV_

Embry didn't ask me out.

What?

But... He likes me... Right?

I practically asked him to meet me at Quil's house and all he did was say 'maybe'.

_Maybe._

_MAYBE._

I officially hate that word now.

"Okay, kids, get out, don't die over the weekend. Bye." Mr Jet said in his monotone voice as we left the room and the bell rang.

"You need a ride home?"

_There it was._

"Thanks." I smiled as wide as I could and followed him to his car.

He had an old truck like Quil's, but it was more beat up and had even more scratches on the paintwork. He opened the door for me and even helped me inside.

"Where abouts in La Push do you live?" I didn't mean to sound like a stalker; honestly. I was just trying to make small talk.

"Where I've always lived." He said, as if it were obvious. I tried to think about how Quil used to get to Embry's house, but all that I could think of was when I'd kissed Embry. Did he remember?

"I don't know where that is." I didn't expect him to seem so... hurt.

"Uh, a street over from yours." He mumbled. I nodded, trying to act as if I couldn't tell he was upset. "So... uh... you like wolves, huh?"

"What?"

"Your, uh, drawing, of m-, um, the wolf." He motioned to my bag. I just nodded. "You're a great artist."

"I'm really not." _It was a doodle. _Paul had told me that it looked like a donkey twice during Math and he (_definitely_) wasn't trying to get into my pants so I trusted his judgement more.

"You are." He said, firmly.

"So, you're just, like, taking me home, right?"

_What do you expect in return?_

"If that's what you'd like."

_Oh, I know what you'd like._

"Thanks." I murmured.

He pulled up to Grammy's house and turned to me.

"I'll see you soon, I guess."

"Uh... sure." I smiled and jumped out of the truck, not looking back as I walked onto the porch and into the empty house.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Let me know what you think! :D:D:D:D:D**


	6. Tears In Heaven

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **Eric Clapton

**6. **Tears In Heaven

* * *

_Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees,  
Time can break your heart, have you begging please, begging please...  
_

_Carmen POV_

I went to my room and started on some homework. I was never really one for doing schoolwork, but in a town where the most exciting thing to happen was befriending a wolf, I had taken a liking to it. I glanced at the time. Three-thirty. I went to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich, before returning to my room to finish my homework. I nearly dropped my plate when I looked out the window.

My wolf was back! I grinned and ran out of my room and to the backdoor.

"You came back." I couldn't not be happy. As stupid as it was, he was awesome!

He walked forward and sat in front of me. I immediately started to scratch his ears and stroke his head. He lay down, so I followed and sat on the ground in front of him.

"How've you been?" I asked, making myself laugh. He, being a wolf, did not reply. "You're so beautiful." I said, absentmindedly, stroking his head. He did a wolf-grin. "My grandparents have a cat. They live in Puerto Rico. My mom's from there but she moved to San Diego for college, like my dad... wait here a second, okay?"

I went back inside and picked up the sandwich I made, along with a couple of bags of chips and cookies, and my notebook and a pencil. He was still lying down, but I swear he'd moved closer to the house.

I sat back down in front of him.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, lifting up the sandwich, then not knowing what to do.

_How the hell do you feed a wolf? What if he bites my hand off?! Do I put it on the ground? I don't want him to eat the grass..._

"H-Here?" I held it out and he gently plucked it from out of my hand. I opened the bags of chips and emptied them onto the plate.

_If you feed an animal they always come back... Do I want him to come back?_

I pushed the plate forward. I decided that I would feed him and then he wouldn't eat me... then we could be friends.

"So, do you like me or the fact that I feed you?" I asked, opening a bag of cookies and my notebook. I figured that I could get his fur done now while he was here- it kept looking wrong as I drew it today. "I think you like me, I mean, I didn't feed you yesterday and you came back."

I closed my notebook and put it back down. I shuffled closer so that his paws were either side of me.

"I don't really have any friends here. I guess you're my only one... I sort of have a few friends... I know this girl, Scarlett, but she doesn't like me all that much... She likes Nessie... I don't mind Nessie... I'm not her favorite person, though."

I felt stupid that I was telling my life story to a wolf, so I stopped talking, but he bumped his nose into my leg, as if telling me to continue.

"I guess I have Quil, but he's got new friends... I don't think they like me very much, either."

He bumped me with his nose again. I scratched his ears again.

"But now you're my best friend, so that's good... it's good that my best friend is a wolf..." I sighed. "I need a shrink."

He licked my arm.

"Ew! That's so gross!" I rubbed my arm until it was dry. "How'd you like it if I licked your arm?" He held his paw up, as if asking me to lick him. "You're a freak, Mr Wolf."

His head shot up to Quil's house, before he stood up. I followed and stroked his head.

"I'll see you soon?" I walked back to the porch and turned back around. The wolf was gone and Quil's backdoor was opening.

"Carmen?" It was Quil and Jacob. I waved my hand lightly.

"What are you doing out here?" Jacob asked. Something told me that they knew exactly what I was doing out here...

"Nothing..." I opened the door, but was stopped by Quil's voice.

"You left your stuff." I turned back to see my notebook and the plate still lying there. I gave a small smile and ran and grabbed them.

"Thanks." I walked back inside to find Grammy sitting watching TV. "Hi, Grammy."

"So, you and Embry Call are dating?"

"What?" I stopped dead in my tracks, turning around to find her still looking at the TV. "No! I don't even know him! What gave you the idea-?"

"That's not what Quil says."

Quil. I should have known!

_I'm going to murder him._

* * *

"Quil!" I yelled as I walked into the house. He was standing in the kitchen, his head in the fridge. He turned to look at me with a confused look on his face.

"What?"

"You've been telling my grandmother I'm dating-!" I began to yell at him, when I realized that it wasn't just us in the room. Jacob and Embry had walked in through the living room.

"Dating who?" He said, a grin spreading across his face. He knew exactly what he'd been saying. I just shook my head and walked back to the front door. I was about to open it when I felt heat behind me.

"Hi." I turned to see Embry standing there. "How are you?"

"Fine."

"That's good." He smiled, nervously. "Are you going to the bonfire tonight?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"I didn't know there was one, I don't know where it is, and I haven't even been invited."

"Oh... well there is. It's at the beach. You should come, it'll be fun."

"No thanks."

"Why not?" He seemed to actually be saddened my me not going.

"I don't want to." I crossed my arms over my chest. I wanted to go home.

I wanted to go home and call Juliette and tell her to come and pick me up from the town where only one boy liked me and even then, he was a total stalker who's friends told my grandmother we were dating.

"Oh... maybe we could go to Port Angeles or something-"

_We? WE? He was probably the one who told Quil that we were dating!_

"What do you mean 'we'? We're not... we're not a 'we', okay? I'm going home." I practically ran out of the door and up onto my porch. I could see him standing on Quil's porch out of the corner of my eye, but I didn't turn to really look at him, I just went inside and straight to my room.

_God, I hate Washington._

* * *

I don't know how long I was lying in my bed when warm arms pulled me up and over their shoulder. I screamed as I was carried out of the house, but Grammy was nowhere to be seen. I only realized who my kidnapper was when I was thrown into a truck.

"Quil! What the hell is going on?!" I was in his truck with him and Jacob.

"I told you we should have just left her." Jacob said, sighing.

"Shut up, Jake. Carmen, we're going to the bonfire-"

"I don't want to go to the bonfire."

"Well, you are."

"No, I'm not."

"Too late, we're already here."

La Push was _too_ small. I could have walked to the beach in no time. I was pulled out of the truck by Quil and dragged onto the beach. It wasn't like the ones at home. It was cold and gray and it looked like it was ready to rain at anytime. San Diego beaches were hot and orange and full of shirtless hotties.

_At least somethings never change._

Quil's friends stood by a big unlit bonfire, most of them shirtless.

He ditched me within seconds and ran over to a little girl. Jacob was already gone, over by Nessie, who was talking to a pretty Quileute girl. I saw Scarlett and Seth lying on the beach together, but they looked pretty intimate, so I didn't want to interrupt.

I stood with my arms crossed at the top of the beach. I didn't move, even when Collin waved me over. I wanted to make it very clear that I was only on that crappy beach by force and that I wasn't moving without more force.

"Hey!" The pretty girl that had been talking with Nessie walked over. "You must be Carmen, I'm Rachel."

"Hello." I didn't want to be rude to someone I didn't know, so I smiled politely.

"Want any food?" She asked, motioning to a table that was just next to Quil's friends. I shook my head. "Quil's told us a lot about you."

"Can't say the same for you guys." _I had barely even spoken to Quil._

"Well, come and get acquainted, then!" She pulled me towards the food table, where a woman was putting food out. "Emily!"

The woman turned around, and my jaw dropped. She was a beautiful Quileute woman, but she had ugly scars down one half of her face.

_She's the second bear attack girl. I didn't realize that Scarlett meant she'd been clawed on her face!_

"Oh my god." I slammed my hand over my mouth, but she didn't seem affected by it.

"Hi! I'm Emily, you must be Minnie, I've been waiting to meet you!" She pulled me into a hug, which usually, I would pull away from and tell her to 'leave me the hell alone', but she seemed sweeter than most and almost motherly, despite being young and a total stranger to me.

"It's Carmen." I mumbled, pulling away and looking into her eyes, trying to ignore the scars that distracted from how beautiful her face truly was.

"You wanna try telling the Pack that." She giggled.

"The Pack?" I had a feeling I knew exactly who she was referring to.

"The boys, of course!"

_They refer to themselves as a 'pack'? Losers. _

Which animal travels in packs? I'll Google it later.

"Come on, you have to meet Sam. He's my fiance!" She almost squealed at the fact and pulled me over to a man taller than all the rest, but nonetheless totally hot. "Sam, this is Minnie!"

"Carmen." I murmured again, before stretching my hand out to meet his.

"It's nice to meet you, Minnie. I'm Sam Uley." He did a small smile, but he still looked a little terrifying. He was probably the leader of the whole steroid-cult-pack-thing.

"You too." I said, quietly. I let 'Minnie' slide- this guy could call me whatever he wanted, he was an extremely buff giant who scared the crap out of me.

"Minnie!" I turned around to see Quil running over, holding the little girl from earlier in his arms. "Minnie, this is Claire, Claire, this is my friend, Minnie."

"Hi Minnie." She said, quietly, then whispered something in Quil's ear.

"No, definitely not, Claire-Bear." He kissed her cheek.

"I wanna play in the sea!" She declared. Quil glanced to Emily, who nodded. He took off running towards the sea, holding Claire.

"Is she yours?" I asked Sam and Emily.

"No." Emily said, somewhat sadly. _Wow, you are amazing at making people uncomfortable_.

"We're waiting for the wedding, right, Em?" Sam asked, grinning. She looked up and smiled, before nodding her head.

We stood in an awkward silence for three minutes and fifty-two seconds, until Emily went to yell at Paul for stealing food from Nessie's plate, and Sam went with her. I walked to the bottom of the beach, right by the sea, and sat down. I stared at the ocean for a little while, when a football landed right by my feet. A white guy came running over.

"Sorry about that." He grabbed it and smiled. He was cute, I must admit. He had shaggy red hair and bright green eyes. I smiled back and nodded. "I'm Lucas, by the way.

"Carmen." I held my hand up and he shook it.

"You at Sam Uley's bonfire?" He asked, glancing at the 'Pack' party. I thought for a second, before shaking my head.

"Not really."

"Wanna come over and play?" He held up the ball. I must've made some sort of face, because he chuckled. "You can sit with the other _girls_."

"Sure." I smiled. He helped me stand up and we walked over to some white people and one tanned person around my age.

"Guys, this is Carmen. Carmen, this is Bentley and Juan, and over there by the towels is Nina and Natalie."

"Nice to meet you." Juan said. I grinned. _Finally, something familiar._

"Juan?" He nodded. "Where're you from?"

"Florida, but my abuelos come from Cuba, you?"

"I'm from San Diego, but my mother and her parents are Puerto Rican."

"Finally, someone familiar, huh?" He chuckled. I nodded, grinning.

"Who's this?" I turned to see the girl by the towels walking over.

"Carmen." Bentley said. The girls nodded and smiled 'hellos' at me, which I returned.

"You go to our school, right?" Nina asked. I nodded. "Yeah, you're in my Math class."

"Oh?" I felt bad for not remembering her, but she didn't seem offended.

"I'm in your Study Hall and Spanish." Natalie said. She did seem a little annoyed. "You're friends with Scarlett Hunter." Okay, now she was pissed. Nina's face dropped too.

"Yeah, at lunch yesterday, didn't you sit with Lexi Morton?" Nina sounded pissed too.

"Not really my choice... I don't like any of 'em much." I said. That was half true. I actually didn't mind some of the Pack or Scarlett or Kim, but these new potential friends didn't need to know that. I lied well and the two girls smiled.

"Good, they're nothing but gossiping little-" Nina started, but was cut off by Bentley.

"We're Juniors." He motioned to the three guys.

"If you want, on Monday, you could sit with us at lunch." Lucas suggested. I nodded.

"And on Sunday, we're all going to Port Angeles to catch a movie, wanna come with?" Juan asked. I nodded again.

"Awesome, I'll post on your Facebook with all of the details-" Natalie started, but stopped when she looked at something behind me. The rest of their faces dropped too.

"Hey, Carmen." I turned to see Scarlett and Lexi.

"Hi." I waved.

"Oh, hey Nina." Lexi said in a fake-friendly voice. "How's Michael Phelps doing?"

"I didn't start that rumor!" Nina nearly screamed.

"Whatever."

"Everyone was worried you'd left." Scarlett said. I rolled my eyes.

"I did leave."

"Oh... well... Embry's looking for you."

_Embry. Ugh._

"You're dating Embry Call?" Natalie sounded extremely hurt. I shook my head. "So you're the bitch who he dumped me for?"

"No-!"

She stormed off, grabbing her towel and bag. Nina shot me a glare before running after her.

"Sis!" Bentley called, running after them.

"Uh... they're our ride. Sorry." Juan murmured, before turning and shooting off after the group.

"Sorry, Carmen, see you, I guess?" He ran off after them.

"Thanks a lot." I scowled at the two girls, before walking passed them and back to the bonfire, which was about to be lit.

"Carmen!" Embry ran over to me. I rolled my eyes and walked passed him, back to Quil and Jacob, who were talking, while Nessie played with Claire.

"Thank you _very_ much for dragging me here against my will. I'm leaving." I didn't wait for a response before walking off of the beach.

* * *

"Carmen, wait!" I didn't need to turn around to know exactly who was following me.

"Leave me alone, Embry." I said through gritted teeth. He was in front of me within a second, putting his hands out to stop me from walking.

There they were again. The butterflies that made me feel sick.

"Just talk to me, please." He begged. I stopped and crossed my arms.

"What do you want?"

"Scarlett said you were upset."

"I am upset!" I threw my arms up in frustration. "I finally make normal friends and _you_ ruin it!"

"What did I do?"

"You were 'looking for me'? Why were you even looking for me?!" I was yelling and I didn't care.

"Well... I-I just wanted to see you..." His voice was small, but I pushed away the feelings of immense guilt that were forming.

"Why? We're not dating! We're not friends! We're not anything, okay?!"

He looked heartbroken, which made me feel guilty, but I ignored it and walked around him. I was pulled back by his hand on my arm.

"Why can't we be friends?"

I tried to pull away, but he was too strong.

"Why can't we be friends?" He asked again. I stayed silent, hoping he'd just leave me alone, but his grip on my wrist tightened slightly and I was getting nervous.

"Let go."

"Answer me, Carmen."

"Let go." I repeated, pulling my arm back, but he didn't release me. He just pulled me closer.

"Why can't we be friends?" His voice was quiet and soft. He sounded like he was practically begging for an answer.

"Let go of me." I tried again to pull my arm away and he finally let go. I took a step back rubbed my wrist. It was bright red and sure to be bruised in the morning. His face looked mortified.

"I'm sorry, I..." He sounded horrified, and he reached out to grab me again. I flinched back, out of his reach, before turning and walking up the street.

I got home without being followed and went straight to my room. I looked out of the window, hoping that my wolf would come back and make me feel better, but he was nowhere to be seen.

I cried myself to sleep that night.

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter! I'll definitely take what you all said in the reviews into account :D Thanks everyone who read, reviewed, followed or favorited this story! It means the world to me! **

**If you read I Saw Her Standing There, I have informed a lot of you of my slight writers block, but I think writing this story is helping and your reviews are definitely helping! :D I'll update soon! Promise!**

**Thanks again!**


	7. Creep

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **Radiohead

**7. **Creep

Carmen is _not_ pregnant, just so you know :) Thank you :) I hope you like this chapter... I think it's good! Maybe I'm biased... anyway, read and review! :D

* * *

_When you were here before, c__ouldn't look you in the eye,  
__You're just like an angel, y__our skin makes me cry..._

_Embry POV_

I collapsed on my bed, sighing. Carmen really didn't like me. No matter what I did, she seemed to dislike me. Well, except for when I was a wolf.

I closed my eyes and thought of Carmen's face when she talked to my wolf form. It wasn't really fair. She only liked me when I couldn't kiss her and hold her, but, at least I still got to talk to her, or rather, have her speak to me.

At the thought of how great it would've been if Carmen _had_ licked me today, I fell asleep.

* * *

_"My mom might have made dinner!" Quil said, dropping his toy-truck on the ground. Jacob stood up and ran over to him. I stood up too._

_"I'll meet you there, I have to tell my mom." I ran back in my house and told her, before running down the street. __I was running as fast as I could, I didn't want Quil and Jake to eat all of the food, like I knew they would. I slowed to walking when I saw Minnie looking upset._

_She was so nice, even for a six year old. She was sweet and funny and she only ever wanted to be our friend. Quil and Jake said she was getting annoying, but I didn't want to be mean, so I always included her as much as I could._

_"__Minnie!" I smiled and walked with her. "Where are they?"_

_"They ran off. They said I shouldn't hang out with you 'cause I'm a girl and you're boys and 'cause I'm only six." She frowned, which made me frown. Quil and Jake could be pretty mean, and I was sure that Jake didn't like her at all._

_"Don't be silly! You're the best one of us, Minnie!" I smiled, which made her smile too. She had lost almost all of her teeth- which made Quil even more annoyed at her because she always had money from the tooth fairy- but still had a few here and there._

_I saw one of her shoe laces on the grass out of the corner of my eye, and I didn't want her tripping and losing the rest of her teeth, so I stopped her bent down to tie it for her._

_"Thanks!" When I stood up, she was blushing. What I didn't realize was that she was leaning forward with her eyes closed._

_I didn't realize until she pressed her lips to mine for just a second before giggling and running off to Quil's house._

_I stood still, not knowing what to do. Mom had told me that all first kisses were important, but that a girl's first kiss was even more important and that if I ever had a girl who wanted to kiss me, that I should be sweet and kind... She also told me that I shouldn't kiss a girl until I was married..._

_I tried to think of what the men, the ones in those movies my mom loved to watch, did, but I couldn't remember. I couldn't remember how to act._

_I ran in the direction of Quil's house and went in to find them all sitting at Quil's dinner table. Minnie smiled at me as if nothing had happened..._

_The memory changed into a dream then, Minnie__ morphed into Carmen, twirling the ends of her hair, wearing that bright yellow dress even though it was raining outside. She smiled at me and my heart practically exploded._

_She stood up and walked over to me, entwining our hands. The room around us faded away and we were outside, surrounded by trees. I looked down, I was wearing a suit. Carmen was wearing a wedding dress. I grinned. Our wedding day. The day that was sure to be the greatest day of my entire life._

_She started to say something, so quietly that I was sure I wouldn't have heard her if I wasn't a wolf._

_"I love-"_

* * *

"Wake up!"

I opened my eyes to see Paul standing over my bed.

"Go away."

I wanted to go back to my dream. I wanted to hear Carmen tell me she loves me.

"No way, come on! We're going to the bonfire."

"No." I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow.

"Oh well... Guess I'll go see Quil and Jake and tell them that there was no point in bringing Minnie all the way here..."

"What?" I sat up and looked at him. He was chuckling, but not because he was lying.

"On the beach, talking to Rachel, right now."

* * *

"Where's Carmen?" I asked Scarlett as I walked to the bonfire.

"I'll go get her, come on Lex." Scarlett took Lexi with her down the beach, to a group of people that looked familiar but I'm not sure that I really know them. Carmen was talking, but I couldn't hear what they were saying. Something happened and suddenly, Carmen was storming away from Scarlett and Lexi.

"Carmen!" I tried to talk to her, but she ignored me.

"Thank you _very_ much for dragging me here against my will. I'm leaving." She yelled at Jake and Quil, then stormed off the beach. I ran after her at a normal human pace.

"Carmen, wait!" She didn't turn around, which made me speed up.

"Leave me alone, Embry." I pushed my speed up to supernatural and put my hands up, stopping her from moving.

"Just talk to me, please." I was begging. I needed her to listen to me, to tell me what was wrong with her. She didn't meet my eyes and crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" She sounded harsh and angry.

"Scarlett said you were upset." That was a lie. I had heard her say something to Scarlett and Lexi and she sounded pissed, that added with how she was acting right now was a

"I am upset! I finally make normal friends and _you_ ruin it!"

"What did I do?" I was genuinely confused, how had I messed that up as well?

"You were 'looking for me'? Why were you even looking for me?!" She yelled, which made me feel worse.

"Well... I-I just wanted to see you..." I said, quietly. I felt terrible for ruining her chance of friendship... though... I did kind of want her all too myself...

"Why? We're not dating! We're not friends! We're not anything, okay?!"

It felt like I had been punched in the face by a half-werewolf-half-newborn while I was still human and already had a broken nose. She walked passed me, but I couldn't let her go. She couldn't just... leave.

"Why can't we be friends?"

She pulled her arm back, but couldn't get it out of my hold. "Why can't we be friends?"

"Let go."

"Answer me, Carmen."

"Let go." She tried to pull her arm back, but I just pulled her toward me.

"Why can't we be friends?" I must've sounded pathetic, but I didn't care, she had to talk to me.

"Let go of me." She pulled her arm back again and I let go. She immediately started to rub her arm. Oh god. I hurt her. I hurt my imprint. I'd bruised her.

"I'm sorry, I..." I felt worse than I had originally. I wanted to hold her, tell her that I was sorry and that I'd never do it again, but she flinched away and walked toward her house.

* * *

_Carmen POV_

I woke to a soft tapping noise and a dark room. My drapes were closed and all I could see was a large shadow standing outside of it. I gasped as my senses caught up to me.

_Rapist, rapist outside!_

Wait... it's probably just...

I climbed out of bed and tiptoed to the window and pulled the drape back.

Sure enough, standing outside, dripping wet in the pouring rain, Embry.

_Fricken butterflies..._

His eyes were sad, which made my heart flutter for some reason.

I pulled the drape closed and tiptoed out to the living room and to the backdoor, opening it as quietly as possible.

"Embry!" I whispered as loudly as I could. He was standing in front of me in a second. Without thinking, I stepped to the side and let him come in.

_This guy is totally crazy yet you let him into your house?!_

"Are you okay?" He asked, quietly, leaning in closer. I nodded. "You've been crying." His hands were on my face before I could step back.

"I'm fine." I said in a shaky voice. I didn't even believe myself and I'd been convincing myself for hours that I was okay.

"Did I make you cry?" He sounded worried and almost as if he were about to burst into tears. I felt tears brim my eyes at the thought of him crying.

_Wow, I'm pathetic. _

"No..." I felt a tear roll down my face, but before I could wipe it away, he did it for me.

"Car-" He was cut off my the sound of a door opening.

_Wow, Grammy Bird sure knows how to ruin a moment._

I pushed him through the open door of my bedroom at the very moment that Grammy stepped outside of her room.

"Hello." I mumbled. She didn't acknowledge me as she walked by, her eyes half-closed. She walked into the kitchen, still not noticing me. I was about to step back into my room when a thought hit me.

_The crazy clingy freak is in my bedroom._

_WHY DIDN'T I PUSH HIM OUTSIDE?_

I shook the thought off and stepped back into my room, closing the door behind me. I turned around slowly to see that Embry had made himself pretty comfortable on my bed, flipping through the book that usually sat on my nightstand. I cleared my throat, making him glance up at me.

"Oh, hey." He was way too calm for what had just happened, in my opinion. I walked over, slowly. "You're reading this?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you found the sex scene." I smirked. His eyes widened and he looked back at the book. "Page two-hundred and ninety-nine, Chapter Seventeen, line four? Five? One of the two." He immediately started flipping through the book, making me giggle.

"Five." He mumbled, reading a bit of it, silently, before his eyes widened even more and he threw the book away, onto the floor over by the door. I laughed again and sat on the edge of the bed.

"What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't... I couldn't leave it like that... you looked so..." He trailed off and leaned in, his eyes staring straight into mine. The butterflies were going crazy.

"I..." My words got caught in my throat when he moved to sitting right in front of me.

He leaned in ever so slightly closer and glanced at my lips, before he stared into my eyes.

His lips were soft, I remember that. They were soft and every so slightly sticky from the candy we'd all eaten back at his house.

"You're all wet." I murmured before I could stop myself. He leaned away, making me frown, but I tried to hide it. "I can hang your jacket up to dry, if you want." He took it off immediately and handed it to me.

_Oh god, big mistake..._

I could see his pecks and abs through his shirt as it clung to his body with the rain.

"Thanks." He grinned. He had a lovely smile...

_Snap out of it! He's totally crazy!_

But he does seem sweet...

_But he's clingy!_

But he's _so_ hot...

I walked over to the radiator and placed the sweatshirt onto it.

I felt heat behind me and turned around to come face-to-(unfortunately)-covered-pecks with him.

"Where were we?" He said, his voice barely above a whisper. He leaned down so that our faces were in line with each other. He hesitated, before moving closer, so that our lips lightly brushed. He began to pull away, but I couldn't let him.

I just... couldn't.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him back down until our lips crashed together.

His lips were on fire and felt amazing against my own. They were soft and gentle, but the kiss was the opposite. It was rough and almost violent, like we'd both lost control of ourselves.

I felt his arms wrap around my waist and lift me, so I wrapped my legs around his waist. I felt the bed against my back within seconds. I pulled at the bottom of his shirt, trying to pull it up over his head. He pulled away and I thought he was going to take it off for me, but instead he just stood up and stayed at the side of the bed.

"We can't..." He mumbled, not meeting my eyes.

"W-What? Why?" I was hurt, but I tried to hide it. "B-But... you like me."

"I do, believe me, Carmen. I wish I could but-"

"But nothing!" I stood up too, and tried to kiss him again, but he stepped back.

"I won't just be a one-night-stand."

"Have you been talking to Kim and Lexi?"

_Those bitches. Sure, this would probably be a one-night-stand (maybe friends with benefits (he may be creepy but he's ridiculously hot!) if I felt like it), but if he was gonna be all feminine about it, I wouldn't have said anything._

"...It's just... I know you don't really do relationships... you're not that kind of girl-"

"I'm not a whore." I whispered, not trusting myself to talk properly. I never fared well with rejection, especially not when their excuse was that I was something I didn't like the thought of becoming.

"No! Carmen, I swear I didn't mean it like-!"

"Just go." I didn't look up to meet his eyes.

"Carmen-"

I took a deep breath so that the tears that threatened to spill went away.

"Look, if you're not interested in doing something, just go, I'm not staying awake trying to convince you. I'd rather sleep, thank you." I scoffed. His face looked so... hurt... I nearly broke down at the thought of upsetting him. He just nodded and took another step towards the door, as if waiting for me to say something.

"See you around, I guess." He murmured.

"Later." I climbed into my bed, pulling the covers up to my neck and glanced at the door. He walked through, shutting it behind him. Only then did I let myself cry.

_Why are you crying? He's clingy and strange and you could get any guy in a heartbeat, it's his loss!_

I kept telling myself that it was his loss, but I couldn't bring myself to believe it.

A loud howl pierced the air and I felt the butterflies flutter and my heart race.

_Why did it sound so... sad?_

* * *

I tried to stay in bed for as long as possible, but after lying awake for hours, I couldn't bring myself to stay there for any longer. I stood up and got dressed in jeans and a plain t-shirt. It was never really my style to be so... casual, but I didn't feel pretty today and I didn't want any sadness to rub off on all of my happy clothes.

_Wow, you're truly pathetic. You're sad over some guy you barely know who isn't even that hot!_

Yes, he is.

_No, he's not._

Yes, he is.

_No, he's-_

I can't believe I'm fighting with myself.

_Like I said, pathetic._

As I pushed open the drapes, I half expected for Embry to be standing there, but instead was greeted with an equally as pleasant sight (_not that I thought Embry was a pleasant sight..._).

My wolf was lying asleep in the tree line!

I threw my hair into a ponytail and walked out and straight into the kitchen, where Grammy was sitting at the kitchen table, munching on a piece of dry-looking toast as she read a newspaper that I was certain was published before I was born.

"Morning Grammy." I said, quietly, but she still jumped and dropped what she was holding. She recovered quickly, before glancing back at me as I went to the cabinets.

"Morning... where're you off to?"

"Just... going in the backyard... I might... uh... read!" I started to collect chips and cookies, before Grammy's words stopped me.

"Well, there's some snacks in the fridge for you to take."

I opened the fridge to find a covered plate of a stack of around half a dozen, thick, blueberry pancakes, as well as a covered plate of bacon.

_D-Does Grammy... know?_

"W-Where did you get these?"

"Jenny from next door brought them for you." She told me. I let out a sigh of relief, but quickly tensed again.

_The Ateara's knew._

* * *

"Mr Wolf!" I said, loudly enough to wake him as I walked to the tree line, but not loud enough to disrupt or alarm our neighbors (you know, the ones who knew I was best friends with a wolf).

His eyes opened groggily, but within a second, he was stood up and reactive, checking around for any threats, before he walked to meet me three quarters of the way there. I sat down on the floor in front of him immediately, and he followed, lying before me. I scratched his ear before placing the plates of food in front of him.

"I'd make a good waitress, huh?" I mumbled, picked the plate up from off of my forearm and setting it down. "Here, have some pancakes." I started to feed him with one hand, feeding myself with the other.

We finished them off quickly and settled into silence. I accidentally let out a sad sigh, which made him bump my arm.

"I'm fine." I ran my hand over his head, but he bumped me with his nose again. "I'm just a little down, is all." He bumped me again and had what I could only describe as a pained expression on his face. "Did you sleep out here all night?" He nodded, which made me heart swell. "That's sweet..."

_You can't have a crush on a wolf. You just can't._

"I got invited to hang out with these people tonight, watch my all time favorite TV show... but I can't go... none of 'em like me." I let out a humorless chuckle and stroked him again. "I need friends. I almost made some yesterday, but fricken Embry ruined that."

_I will blame him for everything right now, don't try and stop me_.

"Like, listen up, bitch, it's not _my _fault that I'm hotter than you so he doesn't wanna call you anymore." I rolled my eyes at the thought of the girls from yesterday. "I do need friends though... Maybe I'll head to Port Angeles later... I wanna go to the movies."

I shuffled forward and tickled his ears again. His eyes closed and he inched a little closer, resting his wolf head right in front of my legs. I leaned down and kissed his head.

We sat like that for a little while longer, until he lifted his head up and looked towards the woods. He glanced back looking almost... regretful.

"Do you have to run off with your little wolf-friends?" I asked. He nodded. "I'll see you soon?" He nodded again and looked happier. I kissed his head. "Bye, Mr Wolf."

* * *

_Embry POV_

After a _very_ long patrol of hiding nearly all of my thoughts, I went home and threw myself onto my bed. Thankfully, Mom was at work, so I wasn't gonna be grounded for staying out all night and morning.

I'd gone to her house, I'd kissed her... a lot, I'd stopped it from going to far- before I took advantage of her, I'd made her pissed, I'd left, I'd ended up sleeping outside her house all night.

Something that she'd loved, of course.

Like I said, she loves _her _wolf.

Me... not so much.

I hated having to leave. Stupid Sam making me go back to work. She had kissed my head in the sweetest way. She's stayed like that, her forehead resting on my head. It was nice. Peaceful.

I began to drift into a deep sleep at the thought of the kiss we shared and what would have happened if I hadn't stopped her...

"Bro!"

"Not now, Quil."

"We're going to the movies."

* * *

**I hope you like this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think! I love you all so much for reading and reviewing :):):)**


	8. White Blank Page

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **Mumford and Sons

**8. **White Blank Page

This chapter was being all awkward to upload and I think there's some stuff missing from it! But if I change this at all then I'll let you know next chapter!

* * *

_You did not think when you sent me to the brink, to the brink,_

_You desired my attention, but denied my affections, my affections,_

_So tell me now where was my fault, in loving you with my whole heart?_

"Hello?"

"_Hey, Carmen."_ It was Rachel.

"Hi..." I said into the phone. _How did she even get my number?_

"_I was wondering if you'd like to go the movies with me later._"

"Um..."

_"Please?"_

"...Uh...Sure...?"

* * *

I was in Port Angeles, right outside the movie theater in Port Angeles. I was waiting for Rachel to turn up. My hands stuffed in my pockets and my hood pulled tight around my face, I must've looked like an Eskimo or something.

_Fricken Forks._

"Carmen?" I rolled my eyes and silently groaned at the voice. "What are you doing here?" It was insincere. Like he _did_ know why I was there.

"Quil." I turned around, but jumped when I met the sight.

It wasn't just Quil. No, it was Quil, Paul, Jared and...

_Embry._

_Because this wasn't totally set up..._

"Hey." I muttered, glancing behind me. I _really_ wanted an out.

I wanted an excuse to get away from this ridiculously awkward gathering. I would've gone to a movie with a snake if it meant I could get away from _this_.

"So, what _are _you doing here?" Jared asked.

"Meeting your girlfriend." I said, looking at Paul.

"Hi." A voice said behind me. I turned to see Rachel, who then practically ran to hug Paul, making me roll my eyes.

"What are you seeing?" Quil asked.

"That one." I pointed to the chick flick poster. I had wanted to see it with Juliette- we decided to just wait for the DVD and watch it together- but I'd see it with Rachel if it meant getting away from _them_.

"Us too!" Quil grinned. Paul and Rachel grinned at each other, and Jared had a fake smile. I couldn't look at Embry. The butterflies were too distracting.

"I was kidding. I meant that one." I pointed at the zombie horror movie that made me wanna gag slightly. I was a princess-love girl, not a zombie-violence girl.

"So was I." Quil raised an eyebrow, before grabbing my arm and pulling me toward the ticket booth. "Six tickets to the zombie movie, please."

"Quil!" I tried to pull my arm out of his grasp, but he was too strong. I was about to try and gnaw my arm off when a _growl_ came from behind us and Quil's hand fell immediately.

"Sorry Carmen, really, really sorry." He said, quickly.

"It's fine." I sighed, confused. I glanced behind me to see where the growl had come from, but only Embry was there.

_Butterflies._

* * *

We went into the theater as a group of six. I stayed at the back, hoping to get on the edge of the row- I usually had to get up and leave halfway through. I stood in the aisle, waiting for everyone to shuffle down into seats. I stared into the theater, wondering just how dark it would look when the zombies were in full swing of eating-

"Aren't you gonna sit down?" _My heart just fricken fluttered. FLUTTERED._

"Uh... N-No... I'm, uh, I don't like the movies, I-I always sit in the aisle seat..."

"Me too." Embry smiled. I just nodded. "Um, you can, uh, have the aisle seat..."

"Thanks." He sat down and I quickly followed, glancing back to the lights. They were beginning to dim, and I felt Embry tense beside me. "You hate horror movies?"

"Yeah... A lot, actually."

"Kinda girly."

"I hate the gore. My mom hates it too, so really, it's just genetic."

"Genetic as in womanly." I smirked. He chuckled at me.

"I like action movies..." He tried. I laughed and nodded.

"Some are okay, but I'm a chick flick girl."

"Me too." He grinned. I went to role my eyes, but he looked as if he were serious. "I was raised on them!"

I was about to make more fun of him, but the lights dropped completely and only the lights on the aisles prevented the room from being pitch black. The screen lit up and I jumped. I turned to see that Embry was watching me. I wanted to be angry that he was just staring at me... but... it felt nice that he was there. I didn't feel as afraid of the fact that zombies might come and eat me.

"Are you okay?" He whispered. I could only nodded and looked back at the screen.

* * *

I closed my eyes when the zombies started to rip people's insides out. I nearly screamed when I felt a giant, warm hand grabbed mine. I opened my eyes to see Embry looking at me with worried eyes.

"I think I wanna leave." I whispered. He nodded and stood up, pulling me up with him. When we got outside, I took a deep breath, trying to remove the feeling of nausea. Embry seemed to be doing the same, which made me laugh a little. "We're wimps."

"Totally." He chuckled.

"You wanna head into that coffee shop across the street?"

* * *

We sat in a table for two in the corner of the room, sipping glasses of water.

"You hungry?" He asked, for the fourth time. I rolled my eyes and shook my head again.

"I'm not hungry. If you're hungry, order food."

"I couldn't eat. It'd make me think of the flesh." He grimaced. "You want a ride home? I have my truck..." I nodded and followed him as he stood up.

* * *

The ride was long, silent and awkward... but I felt quite comfortable... even the butterflies seemed to be more comfortable.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?" I turned to see Embry staring straight ahead, his hands gripping the steering wheels, his knuckles turning white.

"I didn't mean to be rude..."

"It's fine."

I didn't want to talk about it.

I didn't want to talk about him _rejecting_ me.

"No, it's not. I just... You're great and I don't want to-"

"Embry, it's fine." I turned back to the window and pressed my forehead to the glass.

"No, Carmen-"

"Embry." I turned back and scowled at him. He looked a little sad, but _finally_ shut up. I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead back against the glass.

"I'm sorry."

"Shut up."

"Carmen..."

I opened my eyes and sat up. He pulled up by Grammy's house. I was about to get out when his fingers brushed my arm lightly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. I turned to him, his eyes were sad and regretful. _Yeah, he better regret rejecting me._ I wanted to smirk and leave, like I would've done to _anyone_ who dared to make me feel as bad as this back home, but I couldn't. The butterflies didn't want me too.

Before I could take another breath, I'd grabbed his neck and pressed my lips to his. He kissed back immediately, which gave me the smirk I _really_ could've used fifteen seconds ago. I ran my hand into his hair, gripping it as much as I could. His hands soon found their way to my hair too. I pulled back, but didn't move my hands.

"You wanna come inside?" I whispered, our lips still only centimeters apart.

"Carmen-"

"Oh my god." I pulled away and sat up straight in my seat. _Rejected. Twice. Same guy. Fricken Washington._

"No, wait, Carmen-!"

I jumped out of the truck and slammed the door shut. I walked as quickly as I could without looking desperate and wiped away the tears that formed on my waterline when I closed the front door. I took a deep breath and composed myself.

"Grammy?" I called out, walking through to the living room to find her sitting with Quil's mom. "Oh, hi Mrs. Ateara."

"Jenny, please." She smiled. "I'm just here inviting you and your grandmother to a dinner that my friend is holding tonight."

"The Blacks, Rachel is going to be preparing a wonderful meal."

_Rachel, as in movies-Rachel Black? Or Blacks, as in I-hate-you-Jacob Black?_

"No thanks-" I started to say, but Grammy cut me off.

"It'll be so much fun. We'll definitely be there, Jenny." She grinned a knowing smile at me.

_Traitor_.

* * *

I was wearing a short green dress that showed enough cleavage and leg that I didn't feel like a nun, but not enough that my dad would've sent me back upstairs to get changed.

_You know, if La Push houses had upstairs._

I applied makeup and combed my hair, before grabbing my phone and replying to Juliette's many texts about how Jorge Sanchez kept coming on to her since I left.

I walked out to find Grammy sitting watching TV, waiting for me. I placed my phone in a small bag and cleared my throat to get her attention.

"You look nice." She smiled, standing up and hobbling towards the front door.

I turned off the TV and the lights since she'd forgotten too and followed her out to a waiting truck.

"Hello, the Bird girls! You both look beautiful tonight!" Quil grinned from the front seat. Me and Grammy climbed into the back, greeting his mother, who sat in the front seat too. "You know, except for Minnie."

_Wow, Quil is really choking for a punch in the nuts._

* * *

"Quil has arrived!" Quil announced as he entered the Black house. I rolled his eyes and watched his mother scold him lightly. I trailed behind with Grammy.

"Carmen!" I was immediately pulled into a hug by Rachel. _Oh, so it was this Black family._ She pulled me in so only I would hear. "Thanks for ditching me back in Port Angeles, by the way."

"Thanks for bringing along all of your friends." I whispered back, pulling away.

"Carmy, Carmy, come meet everyone!" Grammy called, clamping her hands around my arm and pulling me towards a man in a wheelchair. "This is Billy Black."

"Hello, Carmen, it's nice to finally meet you." He held his hand out, so I shook it. His eyes were full of wisdom and his smile was friendly.

"Nice to meet you too."

I don't know why, but I turned when I felt heat surround my back.

_You turned because you hoped it was Embry, idiot._

"Hello." I said to Jacob as he walked passed me, pulling Chucky behind him.

_Ugh, no. I don't like either of them. Why are they-? *GASP*_

"And you know my son, of course."

"Of course she does." Jacob grumbled.

"My baby brother." Rachel grinned, walking over and hugging him. He chuckled and kissed her cheek, before putting his arm around Nessie.

"Hey Chuck." I did a big grin, which made both Nessie and Jacob frown.

"Come on Carmen, before you make a scene." Quil murmured, pulling me to a dinner table.

He sat me next to Grammy and then sat beside me, Jacob on the other side of him. Beside Jacob, of course, sat Nessie. Then after leaving two empty seats, Rachel, then their father sat in his wheelchair, then Quil's mom, and back to Grammy.

_Who else is coming?_

"Quil, stop tapping your fingers, they'll be here soon." Jenny scolded, pouring water into a glass for my grandmother. I watched as Quil smacked the table lightly, before crossing his arms.

"Why do we have to wait?" He grumbled.

"Shut up." Jacob scoffed.

"_We're late, I hope you're happy."_ A woman scolded from the doorway. I looked up from where I'd been staring at my plate. Over the empty chairs, a pretty woman walked into the room, followed closely by-

"Embry." I said, before I could stop myself. I clamped my hands over my mouth, as everyone looked at me, even the pretty woman.

"Oh, hello." She said, quietly, stepping further into the room. She walked over and as she approached, her curious and ever-so-slightly annoyed expression became happy and familiar. "You must be Dorothy's granddaughter, Marisol and Will's girl!" She smiled and held her hand out.

"Yeah, I'm Carmen." I stood up and leaned across the table slightly to reach her hand.

"I'm Tiffany, Tiffany Call, you probably don't remember me." She smiled, before motioning for Embry to come over. "You clearly know my son, Embry." Her voice held a hint of bitterness, like I'd done something wrong.

"Y-Yeah, we go to school together." I sat down. I wasn't ready to start chatting to the entire group about my sexual escapade with Embry that he turned down or the second rejection in his truck...

I thanked Quil's mom as she placed a plate of food in front of me and picked up my fork, shuffling the food around.

"Study hall and PE." He said, his voice shaky as he sat down in the seat opposite mine. His mother (who was way too young to have a kid my age) sat beside him and studied me, briefly.

"And you both ditched us at the movies earlier today..." Quil grinned as he shoveled food into his mouth. With his mouth full, he turned to me, spitting food a little as he spoke. "Where'd you two go anyway?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Nowhere!" Embry said, quickly. I couldn't stop the scoff that came out. It was bad enough that he rejected me, but, to be so open about how much he didn't like me? Come on, I _do_ have a heart, you know. His mother didn't look at him, only at the food on her plate.

"Well, Billy, it was awfully nice of you to invite us over for dinner... it looks wonderful." Embry's mom grinned.

"Well, don't thank me. Jenny made most of it with the exception of some help from Sue Clearwater and Emily Young."

"Soon enough that'll be Emily Uley." Quil grinned, his mouth full.

"Of course! Four months, is it?" His mom asked. He nodded, eating more food.

"And Claire's the flower girl! How sweet will Claire be as a flower girl? Like, seriously, she's the cutest little princess who'll make the greatest flower girl ever-!"

"Please, Quil." Jacob put his hand up. Quil glared at him, before sulking into his plate.

"So, kids, how have you been finding going back to finish school?" Billy asked, looking around the room.

"Sucks." Quil grunted, still upset about earlier. "My best friend is now Collin."

"Leave Collin alone." I shocked myself a little, but I felt protective over the one guy, besides Embry, who seemed to care about me more than some other chick/baby, if you're Quil. "He's a great guy and you'd be lucky to have him as your best friend."

"Someone has a crush." Rachel murmured. Then...

Someone _growled_.

Like, seriously. A real, deep in the chest-kind of... _growl_.

I thought for a second that Mr Wolf might have followed us here and was now at the window, but no.

It came from across the table, from the boy who had been staring at me all night. The boy who had rejected me twice. The boy who had given me the butterflies.

"I don't like Collin... too... boyish." I muttered, eating a little bit of food. It was nice, I'd have to get the recipe- then I could actually enjoy it, instead of having butterflies that made me feel seasick.

"Carmen... what brings you back to La Push?" Tiffany asked. I froze slightly. No one had asked me that yet. What do you say to that?

_Well, my parents sent me here as punishment for getting pregnant and an abortion._

"My parents said that it'd be good for me..." I half-lied. They had said that. It was more of an omission than a lie, really...

"You must've done something pretty bad to get sent away." Nessie mumbled. I shot her a glare before staring down at my plate.

"Um, yeah." I muttered. I _really_ hoped no one would push-

"What was it?" _Go away, Rachel._

"Um-"

I was about to start rambling, when a bellowing voice cut me off.

_"Aunt Jenny? Cuz?"_

"Ugh." Quil put his head in his hands. "Could tonight get worse?"

A blonde, ripped guy stepped into the room, grinning. He walked straight to the table and picked food off of Jacob's plate.

"Ugh." Jacob copied Quil.

I studied the guy's face for a second before I wanted to shrivel up and die.

_"...You okay?" I asked, sipping the warm tap water I had._

_"Fine. You?"_

_"Okay, I guess... I'm a little depressed-"_

_"You're pretty."_

_"Oh, thanks." I smiled and twirled my hair. I wasn't usually nervous, but he seemed a tad aggravated- like a wrong step would set him off, ready to attack anything._

_It intrigued me. The heat coming from his skin confused, but enticed me. I liked the way he was being standoffish. I always liked jerks. His eyes were sunken, like he hadn't slept for weeks, and his eyebrows were furrowed, like he was in pain. His hair was shaggy and fell right into his eyes, but the sides were sticking up, like he'd been pushing it back constantly but had given up._

_The thing that got to me most was the rippling muscles. They were so obvious, even through his sweatshirt._

He was more muscular and taller. His hair was shorter and didn't fall into his eyes. His eyes weren't sunken and he wasn't frowning.

But his face was the same.

His eyes were the same.

His eyes looking back into mine were the same.

_Logan._

"Oh... hey..." He mumbled, looking as confused and awkward as I felt.

"Hi." I murmured, staring back at my plate.

"Why are _you_ here?" Quil asked, disgustedly. I almost laughed. _Almost._

"Sam and Emily kicked me out. _Alone time_. Ergh." Logan said, his mouth full. I wanted to ask him to leave. Tell him that he made me uncomfortable, but these were his friends. This was his place. I was currently intruding on him.

_Not that I'd ever admit that_.

"Logan, how do you know Carmen?" Rachel asked, clearly unaware of out situation.

"I, uh, showed her around Port Angeles on her first day..."

"Actually, we had sex in the bathroom of a crappy coffee shop." I said in the most relaxed voice I could manage.

"What?" Rachel's jaw dropped. Nessie's eyes practically fell out of her head. Embry's mom had a mini heart attack. Quil's mom and Grammy were peculiar, however. They both seemed to move their chairs back a little. The others around the table seemed to follow, except for Embry's mom, Quil, Jacob, Logan, Nessie and Embry.

_Embry._

His usually warm eyes were full of rage. His hands were shaking like crazy. He looked scary.

_But I wasn't afraid at all._

"Move." Jacob pushed Nessie's chair towards me, which made her scoff, but she didn't move back. Jacob and Quil stood up and slowly between Embry and Logan.

"Embry..." Quil placed his hands on the back of Embry's chair and pulled it back. Embry immediately stood up and walked to face Logan. He grabbed his shoulders, gripping him so hard my mind flashed to the faint dotted bruises on my wrist.

"What's going on?" I asked no one in particular... and no one answered.

"Embry?" His mom stood up and took a step towards them. Embry turned to look at her, his expression almost shocked, as if he'd forgotten she was there. His hands dropped immediately and he took a step away from Logan.

"Sorry." He murmured, mostly to his mother. Her face had looked scared and confused, but it now looked angry.

"What the hell was that about?" She demanded. He stayed silent.

Logan rubbed his shoulders and walked to the table. He stood over Quil's chair, right beside me, stealing food off of his plate.

"Kid!" Quil yelled, storming over. Logan dropped the food and stepped back, bumping me slightly. I heard the growling noise from earlier, and I looked out of the window. I really wished that maybe Mr Wolf had followed us- maybe he'd be able to get me away from this house.

"Embry Call, I am speaking to you!" My head snapped back to the people in front of me. Embry was looking in my direction, his face angry again, but it softened when his eyes met mine. "Embry!"

He turned back to look at his mother, who was now turning red with fury.

"What?" He asked, annoyed. Her eyes widened, before she let out an aggressive 'huff' noise.

"That's it!" She yelled, but then her voice softened as she turned back to the table. "Thank you for having us." She turned back to Embry, her voice harsh again. "Come on."

As she moved toward the door, Embry made no move to follow her, concentrating on glaring at Logan.

"He's leaving." Quil grabbed Logan's arm and moved towards the backdoor, dragging him. Embry muttered a thanks, then glanced back at me, before turning following his mother out.

"Let go." Logan whined, pulling his arm back. Quil didn't release him and opened the door.

"Goodbye Kid." Quil practically threw him out, before closing the door and locking it. "Well then... dessert?"

* * *

**So, that's that chapter ;) I hope you liked this chapter! Please let me know in a review below! It would mean a lot to me :D Thank you!**


	9. Wonder Boy

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**All mistakes are my own, I'll try and correct any as I see them.**

**Chapter Song **The Kinks

**9. **Wonder Boy

*Has a seizure because I got **19** reviews*

Thanks for all of the great feedback. Sorry I didn't reply- too much to do this week, I apologize! I'll update quicker next time, promise! :D

* * *

_Wonder boy.  
Everybody is looking for the sun.  
People strain their eyes to see,  
But I see you and you see me..._

_Carmen POV_

After Quil pulled into the school parking lot, I went straight into school, not wanting to deal with his friends.

_With Embry_.

I went to the library and started scanning the shelves. I wasn't a big reader, but if I liked a book, then I _really_ liked it. I hoped to find one of my old favorites- one that Daddy would've read with me, one that would remind me of home.

I bumped into a girl who was standing looking at some titles. She made no effort to apologize or barely even notice my existence.

"Move." I wasn't in the mood to be friendly, polite, or even a decent human being. She turned to me and looked confused. She pointed at her ear and then shrugged. "Oh, you're deaf? Wow, I'm so sorry-!"

"I'm kidding." She burst into laughter. Finally she stopped, but still held back giggles at my furious expression. "Hey."

"Hello."

She was pretty. Not as pretty as Scarlett or Nessie, but still, pretty. She was as pretty as Kim, but her beauty was more bold, and her confidence did her wonders. She had bright blonde hair that would reach half way down her back if she didn't have it pulled into a messy ponytail. She had delicate features and bright blue eyes, which just highlighted how pale her skin was.

_Wow, I think I just fell in love._

"Edith." She held her hand out. I took it, and I swear to god, I felt sparks.

"Carmen."

"Spanish. I knew your skin was olive." She turned back to the shelves. "It can easily be hidden as Quileute, unless you look closely. Your high cheekbones give away your Quileute heritage."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm good at heritage."

"I'm good at sexual history."

She looked up and grinned.

"I'm Dutch-American."

"You look it."

"Yeah, I'm pretty hot." She laughed and continued looking at the books. "You're friends with the cult."

"The cult?"

"Sam Uley's following." She mocked awe and enthusiasm, then her face dropped again. "They think they own the beach in La Push."

"I'm not friends with them... I mean, I live next door to Quil Ateara... He knows my Grammy-"

"How cute." She mused, running her hand over the book. "You're a Sophomore?"

"Yeah, you?"

"Junior, waiting to become a college Freshman... waiting to get out of the hell hole that is Forks High School."

"How happy."

"Yes, I am. I'll see you, I guess." She grinned at me, and the bell rang out. She turned to a table, collected together papers, then picked up a backpack and left.

I rubbed my stomach, wanting the butterflies to wake up and see how much I was in love with Edith, but they rested. My heart still fluttered and my brain finally registered that it needed to go to Principle Mitchell's office to review the previous week.

* * *

"Have a nice second week, Carmen." Principle Mitchell let me out, smiling. His face dropped when he watched Scarlett stand up and walk up to us.

"Sup, Mitch." She grinned. I ignored her and practically ran to the Math classroom, where Paul grinned when he saw me.

I sat down and ignored him as best as I could, focusing on Edith, the Dutch blonde girl.

I decided that as quirky and mysterious she was, I'd have to have her as my new best friend. Surely she'd be in the library at lunch, so I could hang out with her. I wanted to know all about her.

I felt the need to make this girl my friend. Maybe I was just lonely. Maybe it was because she was just as much of a lone wolf as I was. Maybe that was why I loved Mr Wolf so much- he was always alone, just like me.

* * *

"Hi Carmen!"

"Hello Embry." I rolled my eyes as he sat next to me on the bench I was supposed to be helping move to the other side of the gym so that it wasn't in the way of whatever game we were playing.

"How are you?" He asked, sounding honestly intrigued. I crossed my arms over my stomach, casually nipping my skin, trying to make the butterflies go away.

"Fine."

"Why are you pinching yourself?" He chuckled.

"Because my life is dream when you're talking to me." I mocked, but as the sentence left my mouth, I realized that it was kind of true, as stupid as it sounded.

I stood up and walked to the teacher, leaving Embry alone on the benches.

"Bird?"

"I feel, like, _super_ sick, can I go see the nurse?"

* * *

After sleeping for two hours (missing Spanish and Biology- yay!), it was lunch, and I was in the cafeteria, sitting at my loner table, but this time, Edith was sitting down next to me.

"I'll probably head outside later on, I usually do. I hate sitting in here for a full hour, it's a waste of time."

"You're really weird."

"That's why I don't have any friends." She chuckled, but so far, it seemed true.

"Well, we're friends now, right?"

"Right." She raised an eyebrow, almost suspiciously. "Unless you get bored of me and go back to the 'roid table."

"'Roid?"

"Steroids of course."

"Of course." I giggled and glanced at the table.

Scarlett was feeding Seth gummy bears, while Quil stole food from Nessie and Jake's plates while they watched 'Sceth' eat. Jared and Kim were talking quietly, and she was blushing dark enough for it to come out on her dark skin. Paul was on the phone to someone, Brady and Lexi were kissing, Collin was on his phone, grinning every now and again as he received messages.

What caught my attention, was Embry.

His eyes were fixed on me, sending a shiver down my spine. When our eyes met, he grinned, which made me smile, as much as I tried not to.

"Oh my god, you're a 'roid girl." Edith's voice was accusing, but when I tore my eyes from Embry's to hers, she was grinning.

"No way."

"You are! You wanna be over there, sitting on his lap while he feeds you chocolate covered peanuts and brushes your hair."

"Totally." I rolled my eyes.

_I didn't like chocolate covered peanuts..._

"You know, Scarlett and Lexi weren't always like that."

"Really?"

"Nope. They used to sit here, at this table, with their friend Logan- you've had sex with him- and just be like normal kids."

She glanced around the room, then back at the table, like she was nervous.

"One day, she was closer to the Cullens, then when the schools merged, she was dating Seth Clearwater and Lexi was trying to choose between Collin and Brady."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"She tore Collin and Brady's friendship apart."

I watched the table, as Collin and Brady suddenly looked at each other, like they could hear us.

"What about Chu-Nessie and Jacob?"

"They've been dating for around six months, officially. They grew up best friends or something. You see, The Cullens all used to live here, but didn't fully graduate or something, I don't know all about that, but I'm learning."

"You know everything."

"I'm awesome at eavesdropping because people think I'm not there or not listening. It's great." She grinned.

"What about Embry Call? How comes he doesn't have a girlfriend? I mean, he's smoking hot and everything." As I glanced up to try and sneak a peek at his perfect bone structure, I saw him grinning at me, like _he'd _heard what I'd said.

"He started dating around a week before you got here, seriously." She chuckled. "He used to be in love with Scarlett Hunter, but he started to go on first dates and stuff-"

_Cue a random glare from Seth to Embry..._

"-then he made out with Natalie Gergenball in the movie theater in Port Angeles- she told everyone that they were dating..." She broke into robust laughter.

"Then what happened?" I was desperate to know what had happened to give Natalie the impression that Embry had dumped her for me.

"...Then... You... Dumped... Her... Started... With... You..." She panted between laughs.

"That made no sense."

She took a few minutes, then composed herself.

"You came here and when she asked him out on Monday night, he told her that he wasn't interested anymore, then suddenly, he and you were BFF's." She started laughing again.

"We're not even friends." I didn't mean to snap, but that made her stop laughing and look at me curiously.

"Nobody defends themselves like that unless they're much, much more." She smiled, wiggled her eyebrows, then took a drink of a carton of milk- the only thing she'd bought for lunch.

"You're a freak."

"Damn straight."

* * *

_Dammit, I will study this period!_

I sat down at the surprisingly empty table at the back of the class, praying that Edith would shock me and turn up, but she didn't. Instead, Embry walked in and sat down across the table from me.

"Hello." _Dammit! Now that you've spoken, you can't ignore him!_

"Hi!" He grinned like a kid on Christmas morning, then leaned in, resting his arms on the table. When I didn't respond, his smile faltered, then returned again. "You've made a new friend."

"Edith."

"You like her?"

"Definitely."

"What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

"Why?"

_Dammit. A question that I can't answer with one word._

"Because red is passion."

"Red is love."

"Red is also anger."

"So, you're changing your answer?"

"I'm trying to study."

"Whatcha studying?"

"Romeo and Juliet."

"Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight, for I never saw true beauty till this night."

_You can have my heart and I'll take off my pants right now. _

"I always liked the movie."

"With Leonardo DiCaprio?"

"Are you _sure_ you're straight?"

"I kissed you, didn't I?"

_Ouch._

"But then you rejected me."

My voice had definitely become harsh and showed the hurt I was trying desperately to hide.

"Carmen, I'm so sorry-"

"I'm fine."

"Really?"

"Yes, it didn't mean anything, I get that."

_Wow, I think one of the butterflies just bit my stomach._

His expression changed from the apologetic expression he had been rocking for a while now to a sad, but somewhat angry expression.

"No, that's not it at all-"

"Sure it is."

"Carmen-"

My phone started ringing, so, without giving him a second glance, I answered it.

"Hello?"

_"You didn't tell Vince you were leaving?"_

"Juliette? Hey!"

"_Carmy! Vince just came up to me last period and said that he noticed you hadn't been in for a few days-_"

"I told him I was leaving the day I found out."

_"Oh... well... he's got a lot on his plate... he probably just forgot-"_

"Um, yeah... tell him I'll call him after school..." I looked to see Mr Jet staring at his computer screen, completely oblivious to me on my cell phone. "My teacher just told me to hang up... call you later, J."

"_Later, C! Love ya!"_

I hung the phone up and put it down on the table, staring at it. I shook my head at the random call and looked up to see Embry staring at my phone too, except he looked pissed.

_Really pissed._

"Embry?" I asked, feeling stupid that I was worried that he was angry.

Not even scared or anything- _worried_ that he was in _pain_ or something...

"Yes?" He said, through gritted teeth.

"You okay?"

"Who's Vince?"

"How did you-?" I stopped, deciding that my phone speaker was on to high and that Juliette yelled, which often she did. "He's nobody."

Embry just nodded and stood up, right as the bell rang, signalling the end of the day.

"Do you need a ride home?" He asked, seeming distracted. I simply nodded and stood up.

* * *

As we pulled up to my house, I felt the need to say something, though, God knows why.

"Embry... don't... don't worry about Vince, okay?" I don't know why I felt the need to calm him down or whatever, especially when he may have been angry about something else entirely.

He simply turned and smiled gently, then reached out and brushed his hand against mine, before opening his door and moving to get out.

"Don't... I can get to my front door without any help." I smiled the best smile I could, before leaning over and brushing my lips lightly against his cheek. "Thanks for the ride."

I hopped out and walked into my house, thinking about Vince.

* * *

_Five Months Ago..._

_"Who is that guy?" I asked Juliette as we sat at our outdoor lunch table. She was currently sunning herself, leaning with her back against the table while I sat forward on the other side. _

_We were popular, but in a respected kind of way. No one came running to us at lunch to ask if they could sit with us, but we were invited to every party and generally asked to go out if a group were going together. It was nice to always have a friend if you wanted._

_"New kid. Vince Moretti."_

_"Sounds like something from The Sopranos." _

_"I know, right? Apparently he came here from New York. The rumor is that his dad just got arrested for being in the mob. He's totally hot, though."_

_"Definitely." _

_"Oh, by the way, Caleb said to call him, he misses you."_

_"Of course he does." I rolled my eyes. "He's so clingy."_

_"But he's really cute." _

_"Not as cute as Vince Moretti!" We both laughed and I pushed my sunglasses from my forehead to covering my eyes. I glanced one more time at the new guy, before turning back to Juliette._

* * *

I walked outside with plates of food in my hand and my homework tucked under my arm. I sat cross legged in my back yard, doing homework, waiting for Mr Wolf to turn up, and he did soon enough.

"Mr Wolf! You're here!" I grinned and scratched his head when he came over. He immediately lay in front of me and took the food I offered. "I really missed you today."

He made a whining noise, and bumped me with his nose, so I elaborated as much as I could.

"I made a new friend... so that was nice... but I got a call from my old best friend." I kissed his forehead before talking again. "She was telling me about this guy I used to date- Vince. He forgot I left." I laughed dryly, looking at the ground. "He actually forgot about me."

* * *

_One Month Ago..._

_I sat on my bed, Vince lying beside me. We'd spent our first night together, which was different for me, because usually, if I liked someone, we'd do it immediately. He was my first real relationship... My first love. _

_"Carm..." He mumbled, waking up. He pinched my hip before rolling over. "Lie down." I did as he said and looked at his face. His eyes were closed and his curly hair was all messed up. _

_"I love you, Vince." I whispered. He smirked and threw his arm out, it landed on my waist with a bounce and made me wince a little. "That hurt."_

_"You're weak." He chuckled lightly. "You too, by the way." Then he rolled over and fell asleep. I rolled my eyes, but did the same._

_My life was... bliss._

* * *

"I wasn't always like this... you know... a total slut." I did another dry laugh, which made him bump me again.

I looked into his eyes and felt comforted- like I could tell him _everything. _

"You're eyes are really pretty."

* * *

_Two Years Ago..._

_I was fourteen (nearly fifteen) and my life was awesome! I was pretty, popular and people loved me! _

_I was at the fifteenth birthday party of some girl at school, and I was searching for my longtime boyfriend, Chad. _

_"J, you seen Chad?" I asked, stopping at the food station, where she sat chatting to a group of guys.  
_

_"No, sorry... actually, I think he went upstairs." She mumbled, before turning back to the guys. I nodded and ran up the huge flight of stairs and began walking down the hallway. _

_I finally found him..._

_Naked, lying over some girl. _

_"Ch-Chad?" I stammered. He turned and cursed, then rushed to cover himself and the bimbo up. "H-How could you?! Why?!"_

_"I...You...I've been waiting for you to be ready, but I just... I-"_

_I turned and walked out, down the hall, grabbing a random cute guy and pulling him into an empty bedroom. It hurt like hell, but it was over quick enough... _

* * *

From that day, I swore that relationships were for idiots who wanted to get hurt...

Then I met Vince.

He changed everything about me...

But... if I couldn't have Vince as my boyfriend, I didn't want anyone as my boyfriend- plain and simple.

I realized that I was crying into my wolf's fur, and suddenly felt very stupid.

"I-I'm sorry, really..." I murmured, wiping my face. "I didn't mean to just... lose it." He bumped me with his nose, his eyes sympathetic. I reached down and kissed his nose. "I adore you, Mr Wolf." A loud howl hit the air, and Mr Wolf's face brightened. He turned his head towards the trees, indicating he needed to leave.

I stood up, picking up the plates and my homework.

"I'll see you soon, Mr Wolf." I grinned and walked back to the house, glancing back half way to see him still standing there. I grinned again and kept going to the porch. I put the things in my hands on the little table by the door in order to open it, turning around to wave goodbye to my wolf.

But my wolf wasn't looking. He was turned away from me, half-covered by the trees. I was about to call to him, when something very... _strange_ happened.

He began to change.

His grey fur started to become russet-colored skin. His legs started to shrink and become more human. He was standing up on two long, muscular legs, that led up to-

Oh, hello.

Ass.

Then, a back leading into broad shoulders and up to short black hair.

Well, how odd.

_Mr Wolf is... human?_

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it :) I really appreciate the feedback and promise to update the next chapter much faster :) thanks again!**


	10. Secrets

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **The Runaways

**10. **Secrets

*Has another seizure because I got **24** reviews and look now I am unconscious and can't believe my life wowowowowowow*

I'm worried that this isn't as good as some of you hoped it would be, but I'll let you guys decide that :D

* * *

_Secrets, we're got dreams_

_Mysteries and crazy schemes_

_Secrets, we've got dreams_

_Secrets can't be seen..._

_Embry POV_

She was crying. My imprint was crying.

And there was nothing I could about it except let her bury her face in my fur.

She pulled away and started _apologizing._ Apologizing for being upset! And I couldn't tell her that she shouldn't!

...Or that I was totally in love with her...

_Embry, go be human with her, you're driving me nuts._

Quil really is a great friend-

_Stop being a kiss-ass and go! Uh... tell her that I said it was okay... yeah, blame me, she worships me, so she won't be mad-_

Quil really is an ass-

_Fine, I'll just tell Sam you're skipping patrol._

Like I said, Quil's awesome.

I turned to the woods, telling her I had to go. She _kissed_ me goodbye and left. I walked into the forest and phased, before realizing that my clothes were gone.

Logan.

He always stole any sort of clothes that we left around the woods- he liked to phase while dressed, God knows why. The kid was a freaky jerk and I sure as hell didn't like him.

And yes, my dislike _may_ be linked to the fact that he and my imprint did _that_ together.

Okay, I need to calm down, or I'm gonna phase.

I walked further into the forest, finding a pair of shorts and a t-shirt that probably belonged to Quil. I pulled them on and walked back out. Feeling brave after stealing stuff, I walked straight onto Carmen's back porch, opening the backdoor and letting myself in- Dorothy Bird would probably just think I was Quil and wouldn't mind.

"Carmen?" I said, walking further inside, shutting the door behind me. Carmen was sitting on the couch, her eyes wide, he jaw hanging open. She blinked a few times then looked at me, confused.

"Emb... Embry?" She stuttered. "W-What are you doing here?"

"I just came to see you... where's your grandmother?"

"W-With Jenny... U-Um..." She cleared her throat. "You okay?"

"Yeah... Are you?" I sat down next to her, and she nodded, but I wasn't convinced. "Carmen, speak."

"I-I... Wolf..."

_What? What did I do?!_

"Tell me, Carmen." I took her trembling hands in mine and tried to calm her down.

"No, no... it's fine. It's fine, I'm okay." She took several deep breaths and pulled her hands away, before turning to face me. "What's new with you?"

"Uh... Nothing-"

"You got totally angry last night."

"...Um... Yeah..."

"Why?"

_Because the kid had sex with my imprint, then looked at you like you were a piece of meat in that pretty green dress that made me want to have you on Billy Black's dinner table even if everyone was watching._

"Logan's a jerk." I murmured. She laughed, but then her smile fell and she looked to the ground.

"Your mom thinks I'm a total slut."

"Honestly, she didn't really care. She was more focused on yelling at me." I said, sheepishly. "She said that I had to go and find Logan and apologize."

"So what did you do?"

"Found Logan at Quil's house... then I beat him up." I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the memory. It was great when he nearly cried... not so great when we'd both phased and he kept thinking of them two _together_.

"Embry, Embry..." She was suddenly holding my arm, looking at me with worried eyes. I realized that I was shaking with anger, and probably scaring the hell out of her. I took a deep breath and looked at her face, which made me calm down almost instantly. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I smiled, trying to reassure her, but it didn't really work and she still looked worried. It made me happy in a sick sort of way- the fact that she was concerned about me.

"I'm glad you're okay." She said, quietly, smiling a little bit. Her smile was so beautiful, it was getting harder and harder to not kiss her every time I saw her.

Now that I'd kissed her, it was all I wanted to do. And it seemed like she wanted to kiss me too, even if she told me that she didn't care. I now knew why she wouldn't date me. Her only two experiences in relationships were with total jerks.

I stopped myself from getting worked up over that, thinking about the way that Carmen had confided in me about them.

Only... she hadn't confided in _me_, she'd confided in my wolf- _her_ wolf.

"Carmen... will you go on a date with me?" It was a long shot, I knew that. She looked down, and I think she was thinking for a moment, but then, she lifted her head up and frowned.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to."

"Why not?" _I already know why you won't. You think that I'll hurt you like that kid did._

"Because I don't find you attractive."

_That's a lie. I even heard her tell her new best friend at lunch. She thinks I'm 'smoking hot and everything'. _

"I don't believe that."

"You're cocky for a virgin." She smirked and reminded me, oddly, of Paul. I looked down, feeling pretty embarrassed, since, apparently, she had a thing against virgins.

"Well, didn't you tell Edith that I was hot, yesterday?" I don't why I said it, especially because it probably sounded like Edith had told me-

"How did you know about that? Did she tell you?"

_Do I get Edith in trouble, or risk being yelled at by Sam later?_

I'm too nice.

"I could hear you talking... you were pretty loud."

"Oh... well, I don't care. So what? I think you're hot."

"I think you're hot too." _You're also beautiful and magnificent and perfect and-_

My thoughts were cut off by her kissing me. I must've gone into shock or something, because she actually lifted my hands up and put them on her waist, then put her hands in my hair and pulled my closer to her.

_Move! Do something!_

* * *

_Carmen POV_

Why wasn't he kissing back? Did I hear him right? He thinks I'm hot? Or did he say he doesn't think I'm hot? Of course he didn't! I couldn't believe that I was actually putting his hands on my waist, pulling _him_ closer. It was ridiculous!

"Kiss me." I murmured against his lips. He didn't and stayed motionless. I spoke louder. "Kiss me!"

That got his attention. He moved a hand up to my hair, tugging on it gently. His lips moved against mine rapidly and his other hand moved to pull me onto his lap. Somewhere in the kissing, his hand had moved up the back of my shirt to run up and down my back. I ran my hands along the hem of his shirt, trying to decide if he'd let me without stopping me like usual.

_Screw it._

I let my fingertips run along his abs and nearly passed out. They were rock hard and I _really_ wanted to see them, but if I stopped kissing him to remove his shirt, that gave him time to decide to reject me.

_Again._

I leaned further into him, feeling the need to get every inch of my body touching his.

"_Minnie?"_ Before I could react to Quil's loud-ass voice, Embry had removed me from his lap and placed me, not so gently, onto the other side of the couch. Quil walked into the room, Paul and Jared following him in. He grinned a knowing smile. "What's been going on here?"

"What the hell do you want, Quil?" I asked, frustrated. What can I say? I'm a sixteen year old girl and my hormones are raging, give me a break!

"Woah, calm down!" He laughed, putting his hands up. "Mom's in Port Angeles with your grandma and we're hungry, so we figured, 'hey, how sweet is Minnie? She's bound to feed us!', right guys?" Jared and Paul nodded, muttering how 'nice' I was.

"Fine." I stood up and walked to the kitchen. They must've thought I couldn't hear them or something, because they all started laughing.

_"Call, geez, you barely know the girl!" _

_"She doesn't even know you're her imprint yet and you're letting her take your innocence on her grandma's couch?"_

_"Hey, at least he's finally gonna let her take his innocence, I don't think I can handle his whining on patrol anymore!"_

_"Shut up, she might hear you-!"_

_"She won't, shut up!"_

I finished making sandwiches and walked back through to the living room, deciding to play dumb and not say anything. I set the large plate down on the coffee table and sat in Grammy's armchair. They all sat stuffed onto the couch, making me worry that the arms of the chair would give way and fall off. They watched me intently, their eyes flickering between the plate and me.

"Eat." I said, which caused them to all dive at the plate like wild animals. They were finished within seconds, and I was surprised that the plate was left. "Well, that was disgusting."

"Sorry." Jared said, his mouth full. He swallowed, then leaned back and patted his stomach. "That was good."

"Your girl can cook. That's awesome." Paul stretched.

"I am _not_ his girl." I scoffed.

"That's not what it looked like." Quil laughed.

"Get out. All of you. Get out of my house, right now."

* * *

I lay in bed that night, thinking.

I wasn't thinking about the four boys who refused to leave my house until I threatened to stop feeding them, or even the intense and awesome make out session that I had had with Embry.

No, I was thinking about my wolf.

More importantly, my wolf being human.

Because...

If my wolf was human, then it would be okay that I had a crush on him, right?

I wondered what his real name was, and how it would sound when I said it...

...And I thought about his butt, because he had a nice one and I definitely wanted to see the face of that ass.

I stood up and walked to my window, staring out, hoping that he'd be out there. Unfortunately, he wasn't, so I climbed into bed and fell asleep to the thought of Mr Wolf and his human self...

* * *

_I sat on the steps of my back porch, my wolf sitting in front of me. He stood up and walked back to the trees. He stepped into the treeline, and became human. He turned to look at me and I braced myself for discovering who it was. _

_He turned slowly, too slowly. _

_I was worried that I'd wake up before I could find out who was the face of my wolf, the man who knew all of my secrets. _

_He turned and I saw his face. _

_Embry._

* * *

I sat right up, covered in sweat, my heart racing. I looked at the time, four AM. It was getting worse. I rubbed my eyes and pulled my blanket over my head, trying to get back to sleep, but all I could see when I closed my eyes was Embry's face.

Embry wasn't Mr Wolf...

He_ couldn't _be...

* * *

The next day at school, I avoided Embry like the plague, deciding that I wasn't going to be having any more make out sessions with him.

_Boo_.

Edith and I sat in the library at lunch, her drinking a carton of milk, me with left over pasta from dinner last night.

"You knew I had Latina and Quileute heritage..."

"Yeah...?"

"How do you do that? Tell something about someone? I'd like to tell who someone is based on something..."

"You mean identifying someone. I'm good at that too. Like, I could've guessed that Logan Wilms is related to Quil Ateara. They have the exact same eyebrows and brow bone."

_Hey, they did!_

"What do we have to go on?"

"Um... Well... You see..." I sighed. "Ass."

"Do I want to know why you've seen the butt of someone who's face you haven't seen?"

"Probably not..."

"Was it a nice butt?"

I smirked and nodded. She grinned, then took a sip of milk.

"You'll have to compare it. So... Take pictures..."

"You're a dog, Edie Jansen."

* * *

I woke up at twelve PM the next Saturday, telling me that Grammy was a saint.

_Thank god for grandmothers._

The rest of the week had pretty much been me and Edith trying to determine how I could see as many asses as possible and such.

And avoiding Embry.

And no Mr Wolf.

And creepy-ass dreams of Embry and Mr Wolf.

I really missed Mr Wolf.

I woke up because I could feel my cell phone buzzing directly under my belly button and it tickled too much to ignore.

"Hello?" I said, not bothering to move from my place in bed.

_"Where the hell are you?"_ I jumped slightly at his harsh Brooklyn accent, and sat right up.

"V-Vince?"

"_Yo, __Carm! You're actually alive?" _He laughed slightly. "_You're in Washington? What the hell? Why didn't you tell me?"_

"I-I told you the day I found out, remember? Mom and Dad made me move because... well... y-you know."

"_Oh... yeah... sure I remember... anyway, Juliette said you'd call, you never did."_

I got distracted by making out with Embry.

_"_Oh yeah... well... I felt sick, you know..."

_"Whatever, Carm. I miss you, though, you know?"_ He sighed. "_When are you coming home?"_

"Whenever my parents let me-"

_"You can stay with me, if you want. You know, if the 'rents say no."_

"I know, Vince." I smiled. He was such a thuggy, Italian-mob-type when he felt like it, but otherwise, he was sweet.

"_And I could come and see you!_"

And Embry... And Mr Wolf...

Yeah, that'll go down well.

Especially when he meets the group of guys that I hang out with occasionally and who keep coming into my house uninvited.

Can't wait.

_"Yo, Carm?_" He yelled down the phone.

"Oh, sorry, dazed off."

_"You're nuts, dollface."_

"Dollface? That's a new one. You sound more like Tony Soprano everyday." I grinned. I heard him laugh.

"_Forget about it!"_ He laughed. Wow, a real New Yorker just said 'fugeddaboudit' to me.

"Well, I'll call you soon..."

_"Love ya'."_

"Yeah, you too..." I murmured. He hung up, and I found myself grinning at the phone, then holding it my heart.

Only...

I couldn't feel the love I used to for Vince.

My heart held a deeper love for someone else.

Oh my god.

Oh, crap.

I was in love with my wolf.

* * *

_Embry POV_

I heard it all.

Everything.

Vince Moretti is number one on my hate-list, just above Logan and the jerk that broke Carmen's heart the first time.

I went to her house, hoping that she was in one of her nice moods where she likes me and likes to kiss me... A lot. I found her in her room, talking to him on the phone.

I suddenly regretted even going to her window, even raising my hand to tap on the glass, but it was too late. She'd heard something and she was walking to her window, about to open the drapes.

_Crap, crap, crap, crap..._

Guess I wasn't gonna be wearing this shirt again.

She grinned when she opened the drapes, and through the window, she yelled "Mr Wolf!" She waved her hands, then grabbed a notebook and started writing on it.

_Let me get a shower, meet you outside in fifteen... xxx_

Then a series of hearts. I nodded my wolf head and ran back into the trees.

_Bro, are you seriously spending time with her as a_ wolf?

Go away, Jared.

_Can't. On patrol._

I'll give you a thousand dollars to go away.

_What about me? Don't I get a thousand dollars?_

Yes, Leah, I'll give you a thousand dollars too.

_Eh, I don't need a thousand dollars..._

Leah, please!

"Hey!" I turned my had to see Carmen running outside in a red sundress and high heels, red lipstick and lots of mascara, eye liner and eyeshadow. Her hair was up in a fancy twist too.

_Woah, does she think you're taking her to the Ritz or something?_

Shut up, Leah!

_Fine, fine, whatever! But you cover with Sam for us!_

Thanks Jared, promise I'll take the blame.

_Have fun!_

_But not too much fun!_

Finally, I was alone. She had a plate of food, like usual.

"Hi!" She sat down in front of me, smoothing her dress down as she sat. She set the plate of food down and grinned, sitting up extremely straight.

What was going on with her? She usually came running out in a ripped sweater with a faded logo of the University of San Diego and sweat pants. She didn't make this much of an effort for school or anything... why was she-?

"Are you a human?" She said it quickly and nervously.

How does she know that?

"I-I saw you... Yesterday... You were standing in the trees..."

She saw me naked?!

"...Cute butt." She giggled and adjusted the straps of her dress.

That's why she's dressed up... She wants to impress me!

A huge smile broke out on my face, and she seemed to notice.

"You don't have to tell me who you are... I mean, you know, if you're not allowed, that's okay."

She's perfect.

"I mean, I haven't told any one that my best friend is a wolf... Especially not that you're a human because to be honest I was sure I was just crazy..."

I shook my head, which made her laugh.

"Y-You're a human! That's so weird!" She laughed again, probably in disbelief. "I'm so happy you're a human..." Her face got almost serious, and her hand rested on my cheek.

She slowly lowered her face to mine, and I really wished I could be in my human form when she placed her lips onto my nose so that I could-

Wait a second...

Oh my god.

Oh, crap.

Carmen was in love with my wolf.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter! I'd love feedback, even anons are great! I love you all for reading this. **

**It's crazy. I have half the reviews of my other story with three times less chapters! I love you allllllll! :D**


	11. Can't Help Falling In Love

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **Elvis Presley

**11. **Can't Help Falling In Love

* * *

_Like a river flows surely to the sea  
Darling so it goes  
Some things are meant to be  
Take my hand, take my whole life too  
For I can't help falling in love with you..._

Two months later...

It was wrong. I knew it was... But she just loved him so much more than me.

I sat in the tree line outside her house, waiting for her to run outside with a plate of pancakes, just for me and her.

"Mr Wolf!" She yelled, walking down the steps on her porch in a little white sundress that made me want to give up the vow of celibacy I had apparently taken right before I met Carmen.

She lay a blanket down on the ground and put a blanket next to her. She placed a plate of food just next to it, before sitting down carefully smoothing her dress as she went.

I ran out, sitting beside her, before lying down, placing my head on her lap as she stretched out. La Push was good to us today, giving us sunlight every now and again- it was summer vacation after all.

And yet... Carmen still didn't know who I was... Or care that I was in love with her as a human.

'_It's wrong, Emb!'_

_'Dude, just tell her.'_

_'The longer you wait, the harder it'll be... That's what she said!'_

But I'd ignored Jared, Quil, and Paul, and asked them to keep it secret from their imprints- if they could.

Quil had told Claire instantly, and Sam said he was allowed to tell Emily because he's alpha and he's awesome- his words. Kim and Rachel probably knew too, but Scarlett didn't, having never been too good at piecing together parts of the supernatural, therefore, never asking Seth, so he never _needed_ to tell her.

"I missed you so much." She scratched my head and stroked my neck. She was totally a dog person, no matter what she said about liking cats more. "I'm so glad that it's summer... Mom and Dad said I can go back for a couple of weeks... but I don't really want to... I mean... I wanna spend all summer with you!"

I couldn't believe it.

Was this Carmen 'I hate Forks more than anything on the whole entire planet, please, please, please take me back to San Diego!' Bird?

Carmen liked me as a human... But she refused to admit feelings for me because, and I quote from Carmen and Edith talking in Port Angeles last Friday (when I wasn't stalking her), "My guy is too great to throw away for Embry... No matter how amazing his butt looks in those cut-off jeans..."

I've also recently gained a wide collection of cut-offs, and I regret nothing.

We ate and she talked, but I felt as if she didn't really wanna tell me about Edith going to the Netherlands or Juliette going to London.

Finally, she sighed and some sort of barrier seemed to break down in her.

"Mr Wolf..."

I looked up to see her face slightly sad, which made my heart start beating harder.

"I really wanna..." She stopped and looked down, seeming nervous.

I bumped my nose against her, something that she knew meant to keep talking, and she blushed.

"I want to kiss you."

_So go call Embry._

"...If I promised not to peek... Would you become a human for just a second?"

Oh god.

Oh crap, oh crap-

"...Unless you don't like me..."

Carmen from San Diego would've never been shy about kissing someone she wanted to kiss, but I had made her that way by not wanting to rush into having sex with her.

Damn my morals!

"Please, Mr Wolf."

She looked at me with those big brown eyes and I knew I couldn't say no.

I nodded, and stood up, walking round to the bundled up blanket.

"I-I brought that because I didn't know if you'd still be naked or anything..." She was blushing, but held a smirk. "Though I wouldn't object to some butt-action."

Thank god she wasn't gonna see my face, because, damnit, was I blushing.

She closed her eyes and I stayed still for a few moments, deciding if she was going to try and look.

_At least then you wouldn't have to deal with telling her..._

Taking the blanket and a few steps backwards, I phased back and wrapped the blanket around myself. I walked back over slowly, my heart racing at the thought that she could catch me and hate me for lying to her.

I heard that her heartbeat was racing just as fast as mine. I moved closer, and her heartbeat got faster. I sat down and stared at her face for a few seconds.

She was perfect. People who hadn't imprinted on her knew she was stunning and everyone (minus the Cullens, Jake and, depending on the day, Scarlett and Kim) loved her extrovert personality. She was fun and smart and beautiful.

And she was mine.

I leaned forward and slowly put my hand on her cheek. Her heartbeat increased and her breathing hitched ever so slightly. She touched her hand to mine and jumped slightly, as if she hadn't realized I was actually there.

When her mouth opened ever so slightly, I almost broke down and told her it was me, but I managed not too, and moved my hand to touch hers in her lap. She shuffled forward, her dress crinkling slightly, but she didn't care.

I realeased her hand and brought it up to cup her face like the other was doing.

It'd been too long since we'd kissed, but I didn't want to rush it. I'd never gotten to look at her like _this_ when we'd been together before.

We were so close, and with my hands on her face, I could definitely see that her skin _was_ more olive-y than mine. Her lips weren't thin like the other Quileute girls, hers were full. I desperately wanted to see her eyes this closely, but tried to push passed it.

She made that easier when she tilted her chin forward ever so slightly and let her mouth fall slightly open.

"Um... Mr... Man?" She giggled a little bit, and I couldn't take it anymore. I moved closer and her heart pounded even faster. I moved my face to hers and gently brushed my lips against her, but she wasn't taking that.

She brought her hands up and onto my neck, threading them into my hair, pulling me closer so that our lips fully connected.

The kiss got more passionate quickly and she ran her hand over my chest, before pulling her lips away and leaning her forehead against my shoulder.

"I've wanted to do that since forever." She whispered, wrapping her arms around my body. I put my arms around her neck and pressed my face into her hair, breathing in the mixed scent of vanilla and cinnamon.

I was about to answer when I realized that she'd know my voice straight away. How often had we sat and talked during Study Hall or PE?

"Hmm..." I cringed at the groaning noise, but she laughed and then lifted her head up, her eyes closed. She kissed my lips again lightly, before she kissed my jaw, then my neck.

_Why didn't I phase sooner?!_

I heard sound coming from Quil's house and couldn't stop the sigh that I did.

"What is it?" She mumbled into my neck. I didn't have to explain when the noise got louder and Carmen heard something being smashed. "Oh, oh, oh! I'll see you, see you!"

She rambled, scrambling to her feet, her hand clamped over her eyes.

"U-Uh... if you just, you know, give me the blankets and I'll see you... bye!" She held her hand out, and I bundled up the blankets for her to take, then started running backwards to the woods.

And I swear to god, I heard somebody whistle.

* * *

_"Carmen, it's me. I'm your wolf." I admitted as we stood on the beach, hand in hand. _

_"Yay!" She grinned. "I love you so much, Embry, this is perfect!" She hugged me, then I pulled away. _

_"You're my imprint!"_

_"I know exactly what that is and I totally accept you!"_

_"Will you marry me?" _

* * *

I never got to hear the answer to that, because a tickling sensation on my upper lip made me start to wake up. Scarlett was standing at the end of the couch.

"Hey, Scarlett." I murmured, stretching. I rubbed my eyes and yawned, before looking more closely at Scarlett.

She didn't seem to be as beautiful as I'd always thought she was. Even after I'd imprinted, I still considered Scarlett to be a close second to Carmen as the most beautiful girl in the world, but looking more closely at her now, I could see that Carmen was miles ahead of anyone as being the world's biggest babe.

God, I sound like her.

I realized that she was holding something and my eyes widened.

"What's that?" I asked, causing her to scream and throw a marker pen at me.

"It was Quil!" She ran out, still screaming, and I felt like screaming too when I ran to the bathroom.

On my forehead, 'I Love Quil', and on my lip, half a mustache.

"Embry?" I heard Emily knock on the open door, before walking in and quickly covering her mouth with her hands, trying to cover her laughter.

"I'm supposed to be meeting Carmen at four!" I yelled, rubbing my mouth.

"I-Is it permanent?" She asked, trying not to laugh. I grabbed the pen from it's resting place on the sink and let out a sigh of relief. Non-Permanent.

"No, thank god." I rubbed my face, removing the half-mustache and the 'I'.

"Emb... it's four-fifteen..." She mumbled, picking up a towel and soaking it. "Drive and scrub?"

"Thanks, Emily." I took it from her, grumbling and cursing as I ran out of the house.

* * *

She was still wearing the sundress from earlier, looking as stunning as ever, which made me feel ridiculously stupid, standing at my truck, dressed in cut-offs and a t-shirt.

Me and Carmen had become friends and had a movie-marathon every Saturday.

Last week she'd told _me_ about her ex-boyfriend, Vince, and even though she seemed to leave out parts, he still sounded like a total-

"Hey." She grinned.

"Hey." _I missed you._

"You wanna pick the movie?"

"No, you can."

"You said that last time."

"Well, there's always next week!" I felt her freeze, probably because she'd only told 'Mr Wolf' that she was staying in Forks, but had been telling me that she couldn't wait to 'get the hell out of this dump that's full of losers like you, Emb'. "...U-Unless you're already in California then."

"Y-Yeah, I probably will be." She was lying, but I pretended not to notice. "Grammy's at Billy Black's again. I'm really worried that they're dating or something because I really hate Jacob." She started to walk back inside, and I followed.

"So, uh, what are we watching today?"

"I don't know... I guess... maybe-" She stopped walking and looked at my face. "Do you have 'Quil' written on your forehead?"

"Probably." I rubbed my face again, and she laughed and kept walking, opening the front door.

"Quil's such a loser." She shook her head and laughed, then closed the door behind me.

"You don't have to get out to great me every time, you know."

"I know." She smiled and sat on the couch, patting the place next to her. "Do anything nice today?"

_Spent all morning with you and then ate and slept at Emily and Sam's, having dreams of you accepting me being your wolf and stuff_.

"Uh, hung out at Emily and Sam's, helped with wedding plans and stuff, you?"

_Spent all morning with me and then did other things while being so beautiful I don't understand how I deserve you as an imprint._

"Just hung out with Grammy. Made a cake. You can have a slice later."

* * *

Half an hour later, we were sitting eating the best cake on Earth, watching a really bad Lifetime movie that my mom would love.

"_Lawrence, I love you."_

_"I know, Sharon, but my body is in a coma, and I can't keep living in the body of my best friend, Gabe."_

_"But Lawrence-"_

_"No, you should marry Gabe. You'll be happy. I have to go now, other people need my help."_

"This is really bad." I murmured.

If I hated it, it was terrible. _  
_

My mom had raised me to find these sort of movies sweet and filled with ideal men that I should strive to become.

Carmen shook her head and swatted her hand at me. I chuckled and took the time to watch her. She was leaning forward, her hands covering her mouth and nose. She sniffed slightly, then sat back against the couch, right next to me.

"It's so sweet!" She rested her head on my shoulder, so I put my arm around her shoulders. She settled right into it and wrapped her arm around my waist.

"Carmen, I'm Mr-" My phone cut me off by vibrating from my pocket, onto her stomach making her squeal.

"Don't do that! I'm ticklish!"

_Commit that to memory. _

"Sorry..." I checked my phone to find a text from Quil.

_Dude, sorry if you're busy, but Jake says there's trouble, all wolves to the Vamp house now._

I texted him back that I'd meet him at his place and then looked at Carmen, trying to figure out how to pull away from her.

"Is that your mom?" She asked, turning off the movie. I just nodded, hating having to lie to her.

_Yet you still have yet to tell her about your being a wolf, much less her wolf! IDIOT._

"See you later?" She asked, sounding... hopeful. It was nice. She actually cared about me, even if just as a friend. I nodded again, grinning. I walked to the door, but she stopped me by grabbing the doorknob.

"Yes?" I asked, not sure what to do. She smiled and laughed lightly, then pulled me into a hug. "You're my best friend, Embry."

* * *

_Dude, you got friendzoned. _

_He totally did! _

_God, stop being such a chick about it and screw her. _

I phased back, really not needing the helpful commentary from Jared, Leah and Paul.

We'd met with the Cullens two days ago, and yesterday Scarlett had turned up in the woods and been threatened by Aro. It was horrible, seeing her up there, tiny and frail, being told that she'd be _perfect_ for the experiment.

Which experiment, you ask?

Only the experiment to turn girls into the surrogates for their hybrid children.

Seth wasn't just upset about that, Alec, a kid-vampire, had 'laid the moves on her' (as Paul so elegantly put it).

Now, I was picking up Carmen, who had been alone since all of her friends had been busy.

"Where the hell is everyone?" She asked as we got into my truck.

"We've been at the Cullen's... They have these camping trips and they invited us because we know Nessie."

"Well, Kim didn't go. I saw her in the grocery store the other day. She didn't want to talk to me though, 'cause, you know, she hates me."

"Kim doesn't hate you!"

"Sure she does." She didn't look the least bit upset. "You know why? Because Jared is in love with me!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah, but I've already made it very clear to him, I'm totally all for Kim and Jared because they're adorable, and yes, Jared is über hot and all, but he's like a brother to me."

"You think Jared's hot?" _Well, I'm gonna bite Jared later._

"Duh." She rolled her eyes. "Where are we going?"

"Where do you wanna go?"

"Hmm... The Cullen house."

"No... Nessie hates you, remember?" It was a cheap shot, but I didn't want Carmen anywhere near Forks.

"Fine. I'll go myself." She put her hand on the door, even though we were still moving. She began to pull on the handle, which made me freak out.

"Fine, fine! The Cullen house!"

She giggled and sat back in her seat.

"You're such a pushover, Emb."

_God, I love the way she says Emb._

* * *

_Carmen POV_

I didn't really know why I was going to the Cullen house, I think it was because Embry had said that everyone was there, and I felt bad about myself.

I hopped out, Embry following closely behind.

_I don't like Embry, remember._

I liked Mr Wolf. My heart belonged to Mr Wolf. Embry was... my friend... that's all I wanted.

The Cullen house was...

_Oh my god._

This was a house that seemed to elite for the people of Beverly Hills to live in, yet, it seemed to fit in perfectly with the thick forest that surrounded it.

It also seemed to fit the Cullens perfectly, and I realized that this was exactly the house I would've pictured Nessie living in.

An angel opened the door, her hair all pretty and her skin all pale. Her eyes were the color of the Cullens, and I assumed this was their adoptive mother.

"Oh, hello... I'm Esme. You must be Embry's girlfriend-"

"No!" I didn't mean to sound so offended, but I also wanted to make sure that everyone knew that Embry and I were _just friends_. Plus, I had Mr Wolf, and I only wanted him.

_Pretty much..._

And the dreams of Embry being Mr Wolf mean nothing!

"Esme, who is it?" A total hottie walked to the door and stood beside Esme. "Oh, hello, Embry! Glad you could come over! Nessie and Jake are inside and Scarlett's still asleep." He laughed a perfect laugh, then they both stepped aside to let us walk in. "You must be Carmen, we've heard a lot about you."

"Welcome, welcome. Please, come and have some lunch." Esme gestured towards a room behind her in the _huge_ house. We followed them both into the large kitchen.

"It's beautiful." I whispered without realizing, thankfully, I said it quietly enough that no one would hear-

"Oh, thank you!" Esme smiled.

"It's nice to meet you." I murmured to the couple. They smiled perfect smiles that made me feel ridiculously ugly.

"I'm Carlisle, I'm a doctor and I've worked with your grandmother, do tell her I said hello." He grinned, then looked to the door. "Please excuse us."

"Help yourself to any food and please, make yourself at home." With a smile, they left. Embry immediately walked over to the cabinets and pulled out some bags of chips with a grin.

"You hungry?"

"Sure." I sat at the breakfast bar and gazed into the direction that the Cullens had left. "How _hot_ is Doctor Cullen?"

"What?" He froze as he was placing the bags of chips down in front of me. "You think Carlisle is... _hot_?!"

"Duh." I rolled my eyes. He had been shocked twice when I'd told him that, yes, I did notice super hot guys.

"...So... uh... Edith... she's not- I mean, you're not... hanging out with her today?"

"Nu-uh. She's gone to Neverland so-"

"Neverland?" He grinned, and I felt myself blush. I never usually let people noticing me being an idiot get to me, but the way that Embry chuckled his wonderful laugh really hit me hard.

"I meant Netherland..." I inwardly groaned at my stupidity. "The Netherlands."

"You're too cute for your own good." We both froze. I think that even as best friends, we both knew each other was hot, but we never... talked about it. I blushed and stayed still as he walked around the counter to sit next to me.

"So... why is everyone here?"

"No reason." He said, almost too quickly. "What did Nina Lakes say to you last Friday? I saw her come up to you."

I rolled my eyes at the memory and scoffed.

"She said that she was really sorry that she was ever mean to me and that Juan thought we'd be great friends, and then, I said- oh, hey, Scarlett!" I grinned as she came into the kitchen, her hair on end, her eyes squinted at the light.

Her eyes moved from me to Embry, then a pitying look crossed her face.

"Hi. What are you doing here?" She walked passed me to sit next to Embry on the other side.

"Looking for someone to hang out with. No one is left in La Push, seriously. Plus, all my Forks friends are vacationing. Stupid fricken summer. I want to go home!"

_I'm such a liar. _

"I know, but how'd you even get through the front door?" She asked, half-joking. I rolled my eyes and stuffed more chips into my mouth.

"Hot doctor let me in. Like, seriously, have you seen that guy? Wow."

"Shut up, Carmen." She muttered, which made me only want to annoy her more.

"Like, I might have to become Chucky's best friend, because, wow, is that guy-"

"Please stop talking." Nessie said, sounding on the edge of vomit, which made me laugh. "That's my grand- my, um, dad."

_Grand what? God, this family is weird._

"Adoptive dad." I pointed out, ignoring the grand thing. I went back to my mission of getting Chucky to vomit. "He's _so_ hot, like, your entire family is, but him? Wow."

"Shut up!" Scarlett yelled, which made me pissed. No one tells me what to do, especially not the virgin with the ridiculously hot boyfriend.

"Ugh, just because you need to get laid-"

"No, Carmen, not today, go away!"

_Not today? What did that meant? I'd have to get Embry to tell me later._

"I hope you don't mean me!" Edward and Bella followed some beautiful people in, and Nessie squealed.

"Aunt Carmen! Uncle Eleazar!"

I looked over at the couple. They're skin was marble-like, like the Cullens, but it had a slightly tan underlying. I stood up and walked over to them.

"Oh my god, no way! My name's Carmen! We're destined to be best friends, you know?" I put my hand on her shoulder, but I jumped and pulled it back. She was fricken freezing! "Frostbite!" I did what I usually did if I happened to touch the Cullens by accident in school, and found the nearest Quileute guy to warm me up. I put my hand on Embry's shoulder and tried to ignore the smile he gave me.

"It's nice to meet you." Other Carmen smiled as perfectly as the Cullens. It was weird how none of them seemed related, but they all had similar qualities.

"Is that a Spanish accent? My mom's Spanish too!" I was being a dork, but I wanted these people to like me. I loved the thought of the Spaniards sticking together (and fighting the evil Cullens that weren't nice to me).

"So, you speak the language?"

"Por supuesto, el español es la lengua más hermosa del mundo!" I grinned, which made her smile too and nod.

"Come on, Scar, you take Spanish." Nessie urged her, and I swear Scarlett almost broke into a sweat.

"Uh, um... 'It's, uh... super! Spanish is the language of sisters and Mondays'." I looked at Carmen and couldn't help but laugh with her and Eleazar. I totally carried her through the classes.

"She said, 'of course, Spanish is the most beautiful language in the world'." Eleazar informed her. I couldn't resist joining in.

"Idiota-"

"I know what that means, Minnie."

I scoffed at the nickname and glanced down at Embry to see my hand still on his shoulder. I snatched it back, and I swear to god, his face fell slightly.

"Come on, I'll take you home... let the Cullens talk to their friends." Embry stood up and nodded his head towards the door.

"Ugh, fine, but we're coming back, right?" I felt so pathetic and everything, but I really wanted to be friends with these Spanish people who seemed nice enough.

I only had a handful of friends here; Mr Wolf, Embry, Edith, Quil, a few of the wolves and Kim and Scarlett on a good day. I guess that Juan, the Latino I'd met on the beach, was kinda my friend, but because of his closeness with Nina and Natalie, he rarely talked to me outside of the English class we shared with Nessie.

"Sure." Embry waved at Nessie and Scarlett, then grabbed my shoulders and pulled me out of the door.

* * *

**Well, I hope you guys like this! Let me know what you think! I hope you like the time skip :) Please let me know! :D**


	12. Never Tear Us Apart

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **INXS

**12. **Never Tear Us Apart

* * *

_I was standing,  
You were there,  
Two worlds collided,  
And they could never tear us apart..._

_Carmen POV_

Embry and I were in his truck, driving away from the Cullen mansion.

"Wanna do something?" He asked, glancing at me. I shrugged and tucked my knees in, putting my feet on the seat.

"Depends, I guess."

"Well, we never finished movie night on Saturday-"

"Yeah, was everything okay with your mom?" I asked, looking at the side of his face. He furrowed his eyebrows, looking confused, then turned to me with a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, everything's fine..." He looked back at the road, and I found myself staring at him. He was hot, I could appreciate that. His bone structure was perfect and I got the urge to kiss his jawline.

_NO!_

I needed a cold shower later.

"Well, Grammy'll be at home right now, so she'll be watching TV."

"My mom's probably still at work... we could go to my house...?" He glanced at me, then went back to looking at the road.

"Um, sure, I mean, it's time I stole your food, right?" I laughed, nervously. I'd never been to Embry's house before, and for some reason, I was excited that he'd even asked me.

* * *

We got to his house a little while after, neither of us speaking for the rest of the journey. He stopped outside of his house, and I groaned at the thought of running through the rain.

"It's supposed to be summer." I grumbled. He laughed and got out, walking round to open the door for me. I grinned as he helped me out, then held back a scream as I felt the rain on my head. He pulled my hand to the door, then opened it quickly and pushed me in.

"This _is_ summer in Forks." He chuckled, leading me into the living room of the tiny house. He looked at me, his eyes filled with worry. "You must be freezing."

"I'm fine..." I mumbled, peeling off my jacket. He immediately took it and hung it on a door. He looked at me, his mouth opening and closing, like he was trying to work up the nerve to say something.

"Uh... um... hmm... do... uh-"

"What?" I snapped, pushing my wet hair out of my face. He coughed, awkwardly, then turned his head.

"Do you, um, want something dry to, um, wear?" He asked, then cleared his throat, not meeting my eyes. I rolled my eyes and walked over to him.

"Yeah... one of your shirts will do." I smirked, feeling badass, like always. He blushed ever so slightly, then took my hand, leading me up a small flight of stairs to a small, clean room. He walked over to a dresser and pulled out two shirts. He blushed again, and walked over.

"H-Here..." He wouldn't meet my eyes, and I found myself loving how cute he was, all shy and nervous. "A-Are you, um, sure, th-that's enough?"

"Yes." I said, he smiled lightly, finally looking into my eyes. "Is this your room?"

"Yeah..." He mumbled, looking around. I walked to the dresser, looking at the photos that sat on top of it.

There was a photo of his mother, looking younger, and a little boy who definitely had his eyes. Also, there was a picture of him, Quil and Jacob, but they were all scrawnier and shorter, their hair longer too.

"How long ago was this?" I asked, picking up the photo.

"Um... a few years, I don't remember exactly when it was taken."

I moved to the other side of the dresser where there was a picture of all of Embry's friends. I found him immediately, standing at the edge next to Quil. I set the photo back down, then turned around.

"Bathroom?" I asked, walking to him and taking the shirt out of his hands.

* * *

God.

I was a mess.

My hair was stuck my face and my mascara was gathering under my eyes. I scrubbed my face with water until I was make-up free, then pulled my hair back into a ponytail, thankful for the hair-tie that lived on my wrist. I changed, pulling the ridiculously long t-shirt over my head. It reached my mid-thighs, the sleeves almost at my elbows.

I left the bathroom, going straight downstairs to where Embry was sitting on the couch, a bowl of popcorn in his lap.

I was a little sad that he'd changed out of his wet t-shirt, but decided to keep that thought to myself.

I walked over and threw myself down next to him, tucking my legs up. I took some popcorn, then picked up the stack of DVDs that sat on next to him.

"Titanic." I said immediately, not even looking at the other options.

"I-I thought you'd say that..." He murmured, then the TV started playing the movie. I grinned and sat back.

"You know me so well." I laughed, turning to look at him. He sat, his eyes wide as he looked at me. "What?"

"Y-You... you look..."

"Oh, god, I know. Fricken rain." I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling self-conscious about what I looked like. He swallowed, then shook his head.

"No... you look... amazing."

I scoffed, and pushed his chest slightly. He shook his head again.

"I'm serious."

I blushed and scoffed again.

"Shut up." I murmured, sitting back, leaning onto his arm as it lay across the back of the couch. The movie started, and I kept my eyes forward, not looking back at Embry, who I knew was watching me.

_I love Mr Wolf. I love Mr Wolf. I love Mr Wolf..._

* * *

I was in hysterics by the end of it. I had moved to sit in Embry's lap, not that he seemed to mind. I had my face pressed to his chest, crying into his shirt. His arms wrapped around me, and I swear he was crying too.

"C-Carmen?" He whispered. "You okay?" I could only nod. His arms tightened around me, and his fingers ran back and forth along my thigh.

"I cannot believe you let me watch that!"

"What? I...I..."

"I get too emotional. I'm a wreck. I hate crying in front of people." I wiped my hands over my face, hoping that I didn't look like a blubbering idiot. He chuckled and ran his warm hand across one side of my face, pulling my head away from him to look into his eyes.

"Don't worry about crying in front of me." He whispered, then wiped his own face. "I'm no one to judge."

I brought my hand up to his face and cradled his cheek, wiping his eyes with my thumb. I couldn't stop myself and I moved my face to meet his, kissing his cheek.

"You look manly as hell when you cry." I kissed his other cheek, then cupped both of his cheeks with my hands, before giving in and brushing my lips over his.

"Carmen, I'm Mr-"

_"Sweetie? Are you home? Embry?_" I froze when Embry's mom walked into the room and gasped.

"M-Mom! Y-You're home early..." He stammered, not moving his hands from around me.

"Why are you on his lap? Why aren't you wearing pants? Is that his shirt?!" She looked shocked and pissed and I felt like faking a heart attack or something, just to get out of there.

"Uh, uh, movie, rain, yes?!" I yelled, suddenly shy, I pulled the t-shirt down, trying to cover my legs, where his hand rested so casually.

"Embry!" She scolded, putting her hands on her hips.

"We weren't doing anything wrong-" He said, calmly, and part of me wondered if he'd done this before.

My heart sank at the thought of Embry kissing another girl.

"I-I should go... Sorry Tiffany- Ms Call..." I stood up, and pulled the shirt down slightly, wondering if the rain had let up any, especially if I was walking home dressed in this.

"No, you don't have to!" Embry stood up and put his hands on my waist.

"Yes, she does. You and I need to have a talk, Embry."

I knew exactly what she was gonna say.

'She's bad news, Embry, she sexed up your friend and she's already been pregnant, just imagine what people'll think!'

I'd heard that a lot over the past couple of years. At least Ms Call had the decency to ask me to leave first, plus she'd caught us in a somewhat compromising position, at least it wasn't just because she'd heard all the 'bad things' I'd done.

Though I'm sure that had something to do with it.

By this time tomorrow, Embry would've been asked to stay away from the whore of Forks High School, and sooner or later, he'd find a nice, pretty virgin who'd make a good wife.

My heart sank even further.

"Mom!"

"I'll, uh..."

I was gonna say 'see you later', but I wouldn't, would I?

"Um... bye..." I mumbled, walking as fast as I could, pulling on my tennis shoes, and leaving.

* * *

_Embry POV_

I'd never felt so angry at my mother. Never. Even as she yelled at me when I was protecting the town from vampires. I felt as if I could never be more angry.

I was wrong.

"You shouldn't be hanging around with girls like that!" She said, walking over to me.

"Girls like_ that_?!" I couldn't help the growl that erupted from my chest.

"You know exactly what I mean, Embry! I've put up with your late nights, your friends, your drugs-!"

"I'm not on drugs!"

"I will _not_ put up with you getting someone pregnant!"

"We're not even having sex!"

"Girls like that aren't 'just friends' with boys, Embry-!"

"She's not like that! She's perfect-!"

"Did you hear what she said at the Black dinner? She had sex with your friend-"

"He's not my friend!" I couldn't help but growl again. "A-And we didn't even know each other..." I took a deep breath and my hands stopped shaking.

Her glare faded into a soft expression, and she walked over to me slowly. "Embry... I don't want you to end up like..."

"Like you?" I whispered. She nodded slowly, looking at the ground. "I won't, Mom."

"I know, sweetie... but you're so smart and... and you're supposed to go off and be a doctor or something... not... not working for nothing in this town!"

"Mom, Carmen's..." I swallowed and clenched my teeth. "She's just a friend."

* * *

I hated sneaking out. I always had, and I was sure I always would.

But tonight, I was happy to sneak out.

I was happy because it was a normal teenage this to do- sneaking out to see a girl you really like.

I was also happy because I missed Carmen and I hated leaving her like that.

Especially when I'd once again worked up the nerve to tell her I was her wolf, and once again, I'd been interrupted.

I had fought a little more with Mom, defending my friendship with Carmen, then, after dinner with awkward small talk, I'd gone up to my room to 'sleep'. I dreaded my mother's reaction to my empty bed, but I _had_ to see Carmen.

I phased and pulled on my cut off shorts and t-shirt, before running to her window in the rain. The drapes were already closed, since it was pretty late, but I could hear her talking on the phone to someone.

"I don't know, J... I really like him... But this other guy... _Wolfgang_... he's... Perfect... But I mean, sure, he reminds me of Wolfgang and all, but I just... I wish there were, like, I don't know... The same person..."

"_I'm sorry, but is this guy seriously called Wolfgang? There was that one guy who's name that was... Shakespeare_?" I heard the voice that I recognized as Juliette, her San Diego best friend who was currently in London.

"No, Jules, that's not even a little bit right."

"_Go for Emillio, the name's less weird._"

"Embry."

She sounded defensive of_ my name._

She was talking about_ me_.

She was comparing me and '_Wolfgang_'.

"_Whatever, the name is still less weird._"

"I love the name Embry."

_"You would!_"

What's wrong with my name?!

Especially if Carmen likes it.

_"What was it again? Embren..."_

"Embry. God, you're worse than I am."

"_No one is worse than you. You called Vince 'Victor' at least ten times when you first met him._"

"Duh, I was playing hard to get!"

"_So... Are you and Vince over now? I mean, we are discussing you dating two boys, not just screwing them._"

"Well... He calls me every once and a while... but... I don't know... I mean, I don't even know if Embry would be able-"

_"Oh! Gotta go. It's nine AM here and my mom is taking me to Buckingham Palace or whatever. Later!" _

"Bye." She mumbled, then I heard her sigh.

I counted to ten, before lightly tapping on the window. Her heartbeat increased, then she walked over to the window, peaking her head out from in between the drapes. She looked unbelievably cute when she smiled and popped her head back through, and after a couple of minutes, she opened the back door.

"Hey..." She said, quietly.

"Hey." I watched as she looked at the ground. She crossed her arms over chest and shivered slightly.

"Uh... um... come inside... it's freezing..." She walked back in and I followed in too. She pointed to her bedroom, before walking in, me following. She closed the door, then rubbed her hands together. "You okay in just a t-shirt and shorts?"

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Oh... okay..." She walked over and sat on her bed, then rubbed the space beside her. I sat down next to her, gently, trying not to break it under my weight. "W-What are you doing here?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well... it _is_ one AM..." She giggled, then brought her knees up to press against her chest, putting her arms around her legs.

"Oh... sorry." I felt ridiculously stupid. I hadn't even looked at the time before I left the house. She giggled again, then shook her head.

"It's fine, I was already up." She shrugged, then leaned back against the wall. "...So... what's up?"

"I wanted... I wanted to say that I'm sorry about my mom-"

"No... I get it." She looked down, her eyebrows furrowed. "I get it."

"What?" I tried to meet her beautiful eyes, but she kept her head down. "Carmen?"

"I get it." She said, firmly, her jaw clenching.

"Carmen, seriously, I don't understand-"

"If you can't hang out with me any more, it's okay." She glanced at me, before looking back down. Her voice turned to a whisper. "I get it."

"Carmen, no! Don't be... No!" I couldn't stop myself from moving next to her and putting my arm around her shoulders. "I would _never_ not be here."

"But... your mom-" She looked up, tears forming in her eyes.

"She was just worried that we were dating, but I told her that we're just friends." I smiled, she smiled back, but it didn't really reach her eyes. "Even if she'd asked me to stay away from you, I wouldn't... I couldn't..."

"Really?" She looked at me with an eyebrow raised. "God, you worship me." She smirked, leaning her head against my shoulder.

I didn't say anything, instead pressing my face to her head, breathing in her wonderful floral scent.

After too short of time, Carmen was fast asleep against my chest. I lay her back down in her bed, pulling her covers over her. I kissed her cheek and brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I love you, Carmen."

* * *

_"I would love to marry you, Embry. I really, really love you." Carmen whispered, kissing me lightly. _

_"I love you too Carmen!" I kissed her back._

_"I really, really, really love you." _

_"Carmen..." I whispered._

_"Wake up!" I jumped when she yelled at me, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me. "Embry!"_

I opened my eyes to see Carmen grinning at me, so I rolled to lie on my side to look at her better.

"Yay! You're awake!" She sat down on the edge of my bed. "It's not raining outside, in fact, it's kind of like winter back home! Wanna hit the beach?"

"Uh... sure?"

"Great! Nice abs by the way." She illustrated this point by running a hand down my torso, leaving a tingling sensation when her hand moved.

"What time is it?" I glanced over at my alarm clock, only to see that it was missing.

"Oh, yeah, I broke that... sorry... I was here... you were unconscious... I was investigating." She shrugged, giggled, then grinned. "I'll buy you a better one... A pink one!"

"Have you taken something this morning?" I chuckled. She rolled her eyes and pushed my shoulder back.

"I'm a morning person, so sue me." She scoffed, leaning back and resting on my waist. "It's around nine. Your mom's about to leave for work."

"How'd you get in?" I asked, wondering, before noticing the open window.

"This isn't my first time sneaking in and out of a two-story house, plus your window was open, so I figured 'hey, Embry would love for me to come over- he does worship me, after all', so here I am."

"You could've hurt yourself." I grumbled, having fallen out of the tree by my window three times, even with werewolf-abilities.

Though, I couldn't help but feel touched that she'd risked her safety to see me.

"Hardly. I'm awesome." She grinned, before lying back so that her head was in line with mine. "The worst part was trying to do it in a dress."

"At least you look pretty." I smiled and she grinned back.

I was thankful for the friendship we shared, even if I wanted her to love me like she loved 'Wolfgang'. I could tell her how pretty she was, and she wouldn't mind, because I was her best friend. Hell, I beat Edith in the best friend-department, and Carmen just_ adored_ Edith.

"Well, like I said, nice abs." She pressed her hand to me again, and I had to fight the urge to kiss her.

Feeling brave, I put my hand on her waist, and pulled her closer. Her eyes widened slightly, and she raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I tried to act casual. When she didn't reply, I got worried, but she grinned.

"You're so warm." She moved her hand off of my front and slid it to my back, her head pressing to my chest. I closed my eyes as she hugged me. She didn't realize that I lived for these random bursts of affection from her.

"You tell me a lot." I mumbled into her hair. _God, I wish we could lie like this forever._

"Ow, ow! Dead arm." She grumbled, twisting around. "Let's spoon." I couldn't help myself as I started laughing when she flipped herself around and pulled my arm to wrap around her. "This is nice."

"You're so silly, Carmen."

We lay in silence for a little while, before she giggled. She turned her head slightly, so that she could look at me.

"What?"

"Were you dreaming about me this morning?" She asked, a grin forming on her face. I stayed silent, worrying that she'd think I was creepy if I told her about my dreams of her agreeing to marry me... "'Cause you said my name..."

I'm positive I was blushing.

She didn't scream and call me crazy, like I assumed her would. She laughed and turned her head away again.

"Carmen, I-"

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's flattering, really." She giggled again, and I felt my face heat up even more.

She thought it was _that_ kind of dream.

"No! It wasn't like that-!"

"Really?" She turned her head, a smirk still present on her face.

"Really!"

Her face fell slightly, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"Well... what kind of dream was it?"

I paused, hating the feeling that I should probably lie to my imprint.

I wanted to tell her that I was totally in love with her and that I dreamed about her agreeing to marry me and her saying how much she loved me, but I knew that she'd get creeped out and never speak to me again.

"It was _that_ kind of dream." My heart hurt as I lied... but she smiled and I suddenly felt better.

Her smile was that of accomplishment, because she loved being right.

But... there was something else there...

"You seem... pleased..." I said as she turned her head back, lying back on the pillow.

_My pillow._

Oh my god. I am a creep. Poor Carmen.

"Self-esteem." She said, simply. Like it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"You're weird." I chuckled, tightening my arms around her.

"I'm not the one who loves movies specifically targeted for the other gender!" She giggled. I thought back to when she told me she was ticklish, and moved my hand to graze her stomach. Her squeal told me that she definitely was.

"What's so wrong with that?"

"Kinda gay." She mumbled, so I started tickling her. She shrieked and started slapping my arms, her wonderful laughter filling the room.

Apparently her wonderful laughter filled the entire _house_, because my bedroom door swung open and my mother stood with her hands on her hips and her jaw dropped.

"Just friends." She muttered, shaking her head. Carmen sat up, smoothing down her dress, then combing her hair with her hands, before twirling the ends like she always did, especially when she was nervous.

"W-We _are_ just friends!" She said, loudly. I resisted the urge to argue with that. Mom's eyes widened, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Embry's other friends don't lie in bed with him while he's shirtless!"

"My other friends are guys, Mom." I said, resting on my elbow.

"You have girl-friends, Embry! Scarlett doesn't get in bed with you! Kim doesn't sneak into your room at god knows what hour to do god knows what!"

"I only just got here, and we were just talking!" Carmen stood up, still twirling her hair. I sat up, making sure to keep my blanket over my bottom half.

I could just imagine Mom's face when she saw that I was only wearing boxers.

Carmen would probably just laugh and push me.

Or call me creepy.

Yes, that was always a possibility.

"I have to get to work," Mom looked at me. "But we _will_ talk about this later."

She turned and walked away from my bedroom, shaking her head. Carmen turned to look at me, her hands still on her hair.

"W-Why is your mom so convinced we're dating?" She mumbled, glancing back to the door, then back at me. "D-Do we act like a couple?"

_Definitely_.

"I don't know." I murmured. "What do couples act like?"

"I-I... I don't know." She sat back down beside me on the bed, looking at the ground.

"B-Beach?" I asked, wanting her to act normal again. She nodded, slowly, before standing up.

"I'll, um..."

"I'll meet you downstairs in ten minutes?" I asked, she nodded again. I stood up and walked to my dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts. I turned to see Carmen still standing in the doorway. "Carm?"

She stood still for a second, before blinking. "Uh... yeah... yeah... I'll be... uh... yeah." She turned and walked out.

I couldn't stop myself from grinning.

_Friends certainly weren't supposed to check each other out._

* * *

**So, let me know if you enjoyed or not. I hope you did! :D Let me know and let me know if you've got any ideas or anything!**


	13. If It Kills Me

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **Jason Mraz

**13. **If It Kills Me

Thanks to all of my lovely readers, favoriters, followers and reviewers, including anons and people who I can't private message! I do read your reviews and take them under consideration! Maybe when I'm less lazy I'll do full replies in the chapters, but until then, LOVE YOU ALL!

* * *

_And all I really want from you is to feel me  
As the feeling inside keeps building  
And I will find a way to you if it kills me, if it kills me, if it kills me  
I think it might kill me..._

_Carmen POV_

Call me crazy, but was... was Embry's butt...

Familiar?

God.

I'm a psycho!

And he noticed me looking, too!

I originally just wanted to see if you could read the writing I did on his back while he was sleeping.

_'__Carmen Margarita Bird is the greatest, most prettiest babe ever and I looooove_ her!'

God, I hope his mom didn't see that.

Then, my eyes wandered to his boxer shorts and I just...

Don't get me wrong, his butt is nice and all... but...

It's fricken _familiar_.

I haven't seen his butt before, I'm sure. I mean, I only saw his abs today-

_His abs._

*Swoon*

That was a nice surprise.

I opened his window easily and climbed inside. I looked up to see him lying in bed, his pecks and abs just... there.

I just stood there staring forever. He was _SO_ hot! It exceeded all of my expectations! Embry was too good looking.

I mean, come on, I'm trying to be his friend. I kind of have a boyfriend.

Mr Wolf-

Wait a fricken second...

_I have to see Embry's butt again. _

_And Mr Wolf's._

"Carmen?" I turned to see Embry walk into the living room. _Shirtless._ "You okay?"

_Pecks._

"I'm fine..."

_Abs._

"You sure?" He chuckled, before walking over. "So? Beach?"

"Y-Yeah... I left a bag in your truck." I murmured, walking passed him, doing my best to avoid touching him, because I was sure I'd jump him.

* * *

On our way to the beach, walking through the woods, I thought back to what had happened right after Mr Wolf had left after we'd kissed.

_God, my wolf was hot._

_After whistling as loud as I could to grasp at some sort of my usual badass-ness, I carried the blankets and the plate up to my house, __the joy of finally kissing such a beautiful wolf (and man from what I've seen (ass)) was replaced by confusion._

Why the hell had kissing Mr Wolf felt so..._ familiar?_

I couldn't figure it out.

Maybe it felt familiar because...

No.

It couldn't be.

I wouldn't accept it.

I would _not_ accept that Embry was...

No! He _would_ have told me...

But...

Would it be nice for Embry and Mr Wolf to be the same person...

Maybe...

No!

Yes.

Sort of.

"Whatcha thinking about?" He asked, holding a branch out of the way so that I could walk passed him.

_You being the wolf I'm in love with._

"Nothing... you?"

"Nothing."

It seemed like we were both lying about that.

Maybe he was as concerned as I was about people thinking we were dating.

Oh god.

We _did_ act like a couple.

We went to see chick flicks together and shared desserts at the diner.

We kissed. A lot. (_Though we hadn't really in a while_).

The only thing that wasn't couple-y about us was the fact that I was torn between him and Mr Wolf, because, oddly enough, I felt the same way about both of them, despite knowing more about Embry.

Maybe that meant that me and Mr Wolf were more made for each other.

I don't know.

_I. Don't. Know!_

* * *

I sat with Jared and Kim, playing with a ball I stole off a group of twelve year olds when no one was looking. I was trying to give them a bit of privacy, but they were practically doing it (and it was hilarious when Kim realized people were around and blushed)!

I watched as Embry played football with all of the Pack, looking _hot_. Ugh. Again, I need a cold shower.

I shook my head, trying to get rid of the thoughts of Embry that would make Nessie scream, and watched as Quil tackled Logan, then, as Logan tried to fight Quil, Embry helped to take Logan back down. I laughed and turned my head to see Seth and Scarlett walking out of the woods.

"Hunter!" I threw my ball as hard as I could, hitting Scarlett. "Can you pass me my ball?" I smirked when she scowled, before picking it up and chuckling, whispering something to Seth. Before he could respond, Embry walked passed them and said something to her, taking my ball.

"Hey." He whispered, sitting beside me. I took my ball and threw it up into the air, catching it as it came back down, desperately trying to distract myself from his beautiful body.

"So, you been kicked out of the Cullen house? Can't say I blame them." I smirked, playing with my ball.

"No, actually, _Carlisle_ just didn't trust himself around me anymore." She said, and I put my ball down. I shook my head.

"Liar."

"Cat fight!" Jared laughed. Kim hit him, which made him laugh. "If you got involved, I might bring myself to watch..."

"Jared!" Her blush was _so_ adorable that I felt myself 'aw-ing'. "You're so embarrassing."

"You love when I embarrass you." He kissed her cheek, then whispered, "I love _everything _about you."

"Please stop being cute." Scarlett groaned as she and Seth sat down. I glared at her, before looking back at Jared and Kim.

"It's sweet!" I informed them.

_"Call!_" Quil yelled, waving his arms at Embry. "You can't just ditch like that!"

"Go." Embry ordered Seth. Seth shook his head, looking heartbroken, making me laugh.

"Why me?!" He sounded like a four year old, which made me giggle.

"Because I've had to deal with Quil all day and Kim and Jared are too cute to separate." Embry told him. I felt myself grin as he looked at me. He did that for _me_.

"Yay!" I made a point of cheering and pressing my shoulder into Embry's, before I went back to watching Kim and Jared being precious.

"Stop it, please." Kim mumbled. Jared just chuckled and kissed her again.

"Aw!"

"We're cute!" Seth whined, making me laugh. Scarlett shook her head. I laughed again.

"Not as cute as Kared."

"Kared?" Scarlett laughed.

"Well, Jim's already a name and I didn't want to be that freak that combines names to create new names." I turned to look at Jacob and Nessie as they sat down the beach, glaring at me, as if they could hear me.

_It's not my fault. I mean, come on, Renesmee? Her parents want me to make fun of her._

"Sceth or Selett. I like Sceth." I nodded my head, confirming my choice.

"Me too." Embry grinned at me. I pressed my shoulder to his again, nodding at his choice._  
_

"So... Carmbry?" Scarlett said, and my head snapped forward. _WHY DID EVERYONE THINK WE WERE A COUPLE?_

"Or Embren..." _I HATE SCETH.  
_

"No." I said as calmly as possible.

"...But... Aren't you two dating? Embry, did you lie to me?" Scarlett said, honestly. My jaw dropped, and I felt myself glare at Embry.

_HE WAS NOT TELLING PEOPLE WE WERE DATING!_

"We. Are. _Not._ Dating!" I stood up and walked down the beach, straight to Leah, who was watching the football game. I sat beside her, my arms crossed.

"What's your problem?" She said with a knowing smile, as if she'd heard what we were saying, which she couldn't have from way over here.

"Embry's telling everyone we're dating and-!"

"Yeah, he told me that." She nodded her head, turning her head away from me.

"That jerk!" I whined. Leah smirked, but then her eyes fell back to the game, and they glazed over.

"Carmen!" Embry said as he stood next to me. I kept my face forward, 'watching' the football game, my arms crossed. "I didn't say that, she was lying-"

"Go away." I told him. He sighed and sat down.

"Uh, Leah?" He said, looking at her. She turned her head back to us and simply shook her head.

"I was here first."

"Fine." Embry sighed again. "Carmen, will you-?"

"I'm not moving either."

"Sure, you are." Leah said, glancing at me. Her eyes told me that she wanted me to leave.

"Fine. I'll go." I stood up and dusted the sand off of my dress. "Just when I thought we could be friends."

"I'll live."

I glared at the top of her head, before turning to Embry, who was now standing. I glared at him, before walking back up to the trees.

* * *

"Mr Wolf?" I yelled, looking around. I'd began looking for him when I hit the trees, since Embry had hung back to talk to Jared, before turning his head, trying to see his back.

"Carmen?"

"Mr-!" I spun around, but only Embry stood there. He smiled gently, and I suddenly felt stupid.

_He heard me yelling for Mr Wolf._

_Unless he is Mr_ _Wolf._

"Go away." I crossed my arms and turned back around. Suddenly, heat covered my back, and hot arms went around my waist.

"The woods are dangerous." He mumbled, lifting me up so that my feet dangled in the air. I kicked them back and forth, trying to get him to put me down.

"Let go!" I yelled, trying to pry his arms open, but he wouldn't release me.

I stopped fighting as we walked out of the woods and he put me down, keeping an arm around my waist, pulling me with him. When we got to his house, I stopped moving my legs, trying to stand still, but he kept pushing my waist, and I almost fell down. He picked me up in bridal carry and took me inside.

"Embry, this is kidnap." I informed him, but he stayed silent as he walked up the stairs and into his room. He put me down on his bed, sitting next to me.

"Sorry." He mumbled, looking down. I sighed and took his hand. He inhaled deeply, looking up, surprised. I smiled at his expression, before shuffling closer.

"Embry... I-I don't want to..."

"It's okay. I know." He whispered, lightly brushing his lips against my cheek, before putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me onto his chest and he lay down. "It's okay."

* * *

"Well, I'll call you." I lifted his arm up from around my waist and sat up. I glanced out of the window to see that it was still dark out.

We'd fallen asleep, and I'd suddenly realized how awkward it was that I was I lying on him, in his bed. He probably didn't want me there, especially not sleeping over, plus, he'd see me at my worst.

"What?" Embry's arm moved back around my waist and pulled me back to him. "Stay." He mumbled into the pillow, his eyes closed. I smiled at how cute he was, and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"No, I have to go home." I tried to pry his arm away, but this time he had a firm hold.

"Why? Grammy won't notice... if she does then I'll make Quil go and get in your bed and pretend to be you."

"It's not just that..." I mumbled, trying to pull his arm off again, but he merely held tighter. "I mean, your mom..." His eyes opened and he sat up, his arm staying around my waist.

"What time is it?" He rubbed his eyes. I grabbed my bag from the floor and snaked out my phone.

"One AM."

His eyebrows furrowed.

"She should be home by now." He stood up from the bed, walking to his bedroom door and opening it, sticking his head out. He walked out into the hall, and I quickly moved to follow him.

We went downstairs, and I let out a small scream when Embry stopped dead in front of me, making me crash into his rock hard back. I went on my tiptoes and looked over his shoulder to see his mom sitting on the couch, her back to us.

"Mom?" He said, quietly, walking in.

"Oh, you're awake." She said, her voice flat.

"Mom... we weren't..."

"Just go back to bed, Embry."

"Ms Call, I-"

"No. Don't. Just go."

Embry grabbed my arm, pulling me back out of the room and up the staircase.

* * *

"Is everything okay?" I murmured as Embry closed the door to his room. He shook his head before pulling into a hug, his face in my neck. I put my arms around him and rubbed his back. "Embry?"

"It's fine." He mumbled into my hair. I breathed in his scent, trying to act calm as I took in his _amazingly_ perfect woodsy smell. He smelled like something familiar, but I couldn't quite place what.

"I... I think I should go." I said, quietly. He sighed into my hair, then pulled away, keeping his arms around me.

"Yeah... I'm sorry about tonight."

"It's fine... really..." I leaned up and, without thinking, brushed my lips over his jaw. "Just make sure you call me tomorrow."

"Of course!"

"You have to promise."

"Promise."

* * *

The next two weeks were, in short, perfect... In a weird way.

I spent half my time with Embry and the other half with Mr Wolf. He never turned back into a human, which was kind of weird. I wondered if it had something to do with when I told him about how familiar Embry was looking to me.

Of course, I left out the whole 'I was totally perving on him all day, you wouldn't believe it' part...

But, anyway...

"Hey sweetie." Grammy smiled gently as I sat on the couch. "Your mother called earlier."

I frowned a little. I'd not spoken to my parents a lot since they shipped me off here. We talked on the phone once a week, but other than that, we didn't speak. I was still hurt, even though I loved La Push (oh my god, I can't believe I'm actually admitting that).

I knew they'd probably be calling to see when I would be going home for the summer, but to be honest, I didn't want to leave.

I didn't want to leave Grammy, a woman I'd not spoken to for years, but was now someone I didn't know if I could be without. She was so... understanding. So... friendly. So... much like what family should mean. Her little house was more home than I'd ever felt in our apartment.

I didn't want to leave my friends. I loved my friends here, even if a large handful of them were weird freaks and an even larger handful didn't really like me. I loved them no matter what... More than my friends back home.

I didn't want to leave Mr Wolf or Embry. I loved them both... differently than my other friends... I couldn't imagine spending time away from them. I never had, and I sure as hell didn't want to.

Ever.

_God, you sound like a clingy virgin._

I laughed at the thought of once thinking of Embry like that.

Firstly, he wasn't clingy-

Well, he was, but so was I, now. We spent a lot of time together and he was my best friend, more so than anyone I'd ever known.

Secondly, he _was_ a virgin, but if he wasn't... I had the strangest feeling that I'd punch the bitch who he'd slept with.

Like I said, I was clingy.

"Mmm." I cleared my throat, avoiding her eyes.

"They miss you, Carmy. I don't blame them." When I looked up she was grinning. "I'll miss you when you go home."

"I don't really think I should... I mean, I'll get a taste for it... and I'd have to come back here."

"Sure." She laughed, before going back to her TV show. "Are you going to call them back?"

"I will tomorrow..." I murmured.

"Are you going to call Embry?"

"Why would I call Embry?"

"That boy is _quite_ taken with you, Carmen, and you with him, don't wait too long." She turned to look at me in that moment, and her eyes seemed so intense that I shivered.

"Um... I'm gonna..." I trailed off, nodding my head at the hall to my room. She nodded and turned back to the TV. "Night..."

"Night, dear."

* * *

I walked to Embry's, my hands in my pockets as I turned up his street. I was almost at his house when I saw something at his open bedroom window.

Embry fell out of his window.

I felt my jaw drop as I sprinted up to him.

"Embry!" I grabbed his shoulders, checking his body for any signs of injury. He was fine, standing on two feet. "How the hell did you do that?"

"What are you doing here?" He asked, ignoring my question. I wondered if he was in shock from falling down...

Or if he'd jumped.

It kinda looked like he jumped...

But no one's _that_ stupid, right?

You don't jump when there's a tree right by your window...

"I came to see you!" I hugged him close. "I thought you were gonna die or something!"

"I'm fine." He laughed.

"You fell out your window." I mumbled, chuckling slightly.

"Fell? Oh, oh, yeah... I fell..."

"You're an idiot." I pulled back from his burning skin to realize that he was, again, shirtless. "Wanna hang out?"

His face brightened, then fell, and he looked down. "I can't."

"What? Why?" I felt so stupid for being so hurt.

"I have to... be somewhere..."

"Where?" I was prying, but I didn't care.

"Nowhere."

"Embry!"

"It's nothing..." He murmured. I didn't believe him, which pissed me off.

"Why are you lying? Where are you going?" I didn't know why, but I felt... jealous... "Are you going on a... date, or something?"

"What? No-!"

"Where are you going, then?"

"Just the Cullen house-"

"Why wasn't I invited?" I didn't mean to let the hurt come out in my voice, so I cleared my throat and flipped my hair back over my shoulder. "I mean, I wanna see the hot doctor."

"What?" His eyes shot to mine, now _he_ looked hurt.

"Take me with you?"

"No..." He sounded pained, but I didn't care.

"But I wanna go."

"I think you should stay here, in La Push."

"I wanna go."

"Carmen-!"

"I wanna go!"

* * *

**Well, I don't know what you guys will think of this, but I can't wait to find out! Please review, let me know what you think! I'll update ASAP! :D thanks! **


	14. Scary Monsters and Super Creeps

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **David Bowie

**14. **Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)

Thanks to all readers! Thanks to followers, favoriters, reviewers, anonymous reviewers and silent readers! It means so much to me that you like this enough to still be reading Chapter 14! :D Thanks! :D

* * *

_Scary monsters, super creeps,_  
_Keep me running, running scared,_  
_Run, run, run..._

_Carmen POV_

He was such a pushover. Especially for me.

We sat in silence in his truck, but as we got further into Forks, he seemed to get angrier. When we got out of the truck, he still opened the door for me, but he slammed it shut, and didn't make eye contact with me as we walked to the front door, where I knocked, before hearing someone say to "come in, Embry!"

I went straight to the living room, where everyone stood looking pretty depressed. Hell, Nessie was _crying._

"Why is everyone so sad?" I asked, loudly, making my presence known. Scarlett left her conversation with Carlisle and came to me.

"What are you doing here?" She sounded flustered, like she was stressed, and mayb. Had even been crying, too.

"She thought she'd come and see Carlisle again!" Embry declared from behind me, not only embarrassing me, but also scaring the crap out me! He was so light on his feet for such a big guy.

"Shut up, Embry!" I felt the embarrassment rise to my cheeks, so I looked down.

Carmen Bird does not blush...

(Unless around Embry, but whatever).

"Go home, Carmen... please." Nessie told me, her eyes drying up. I scoffed.

"What? Why? Am I that bad?" I laughed, trying to hide my hurt.

I was desperate for these people's friendship, but they seemed to have something against telling me about themselves- like they were afraid if they said too much, the world would end.

"W-We can go to Forks... I'm just leaving anyway-" Scarlett said, making me grin like the loser I'm slowly, but surely, becoming.

"Awesome! There's that cheap cafe we can go too... though it's pretty crowded-"

"That's perfect!" I furrowed my brow slightly, but ignored the feeling of suspicion when Scar smiled.

"Embry can drive us, can't you, Emb!" I turned to Embry, who seemed thirty percent happier now, than before.

"Yeah... and then I have to run... uh... shifts to do for Sam and everything..." He laughed. I thought I heard something in it that wasn't all that truthful, buit ignored it agagrabbed laughed too.

"That guy is such a slave driver! Come on Scar!" Grabbing Scarlett's tiny pale hand, I began to pull her towards the door. The less time spent in the creepyily perfect house, the better, if you ask me.

"We have to wait for Leah-"

"Leah? Why Leah?" I turned to Embry, but he just shrugged. Turning back to Scarlett and Nessie, who were in a warm embrace that had me jealous, I was about to interrupt when the strangest thing happened.

Edward, out of nowhere, said, "I'll tell them." And then Scarlett was crying again.

I was about to ask about Leah, when Jacob came in, going straight for Chucky, grabbing her hand.

"Leah's gonna meet you at the cafe... she has... work... to do..."

Again, I was confused and suspicious, but I ignored the curious questions in my head (for example, how the hell did Jacob know we were talking about Leah?) and looped my arm with Scarlett's.

"Let's go! Come on! Come on!"

* * *

I was sitting in Embry's truck, between him and Scarlett. Scarlett seemed to be in her own world, but Embry was really worrying me. He was holding the steering wheel so hard I thought it was gonna break off.

"You seem tense, Emb." I ran my hand down his arm, and he relaxed immediately. I couldn't stop myself from smirking at how much I affected him.

"I'm just... worried... about... uh... Quil... you know... um... no... uh... love... interests... hmm..." Was he lying?_  
_

"He's worried that Quil's gay and that he's coming on to him." Scarlett said, and I stopped to think for a minute.

"Well... he does have that... quality."

Damn, I thought that would kill. Embry chuckled and mumbled about 'remembering that for later', but Scarlett remained still, kind of out-of-it.

"We're here."

"Thanks, Embry, for everything." Scarlett and Embry had a moment, and I felt myself feel jealous, especially when he spoke.

"It's okay, Scarlett... you're one of my best friends." He grinned at her as she got out. I shuffled down the seat to get out too, but Embry grabbed me.

"What?"

"I love you, Carmen."

Wait.

What?

"Come on, Carmen, we gotta go!" Scarlett grabbed my arm and pulled my out of his truck,

* * *

What?

Embry couldn't... love me. We were friends. Friends.

I didn't love him.

Right?

I mean, I couldn't...

I knew he was hot, and he was my best friend... but I didn't _love_ him... right?

I was in love with Mr Wolf.

And you can't be in love with two people.

You can't split your heart in two.

You just... can't.

So I couldn't love them both.

So I had to choose.

But how could I choose between your hot best friend and your mysterious wolf?

"...You okay?"

"E-Embry can't l-love me!"

"Sure he can, you're a catch."

"No! I d-don't... I _can't_ love him! I love someone else!"

"Is that the Vince-guy in San Diego? Just dump him-"

Who the hell is-?

_Oh..._

"No, someone completely different."

"Hey guys." Leah stood at our table, making me jump slightly. I hadn't even heard her come in.

"Hi." Scarlett said, quietly.

"What's going on?" She sat down and picked up a menu.

How the hell does she eat so much and still have that body?

_Bitch._

"Embry's in love with Carmen. Carmen loves some stranger."

"Oh?"_  
_

I mean, how can I choose? I don't even know what Mr Wolf looks like as a guy! I've never heard him speak to me! I'd never-

"I have to see him." Before I could stop myself, I was standing up, ready to leave.

"Embry?" Leah asked, looking at me. I shook my head as Scarlett stood up.

"Mr Wolf." I took off, ignoring the looks I got on my way out.

* * *

I was running up the street towards the woods, ignoring Leah and Scarlett's yells. I swear I saw Embry's car by the woods. Maybe it was a sign.

"Carmen!" I stopped, turning around and looking at them, standing right by the trees. "Where the hell are you going?!"

"We should move." Leah moved to stand closest to the woods, and kind of looked like she was listening to something.

"I'm going to find my wolf." I told them, half-hoping to sound crazy enough for them to think they should just ditch me.

"You know."

My jaw fell slightly.

"You know?" I asked Scarlett, who, by now, had turned her head to the woods, like Leah.

"Move." Leah muttered before running straight into the trees.

"Where the hell is she-?" Scarlett cut me off, grabbing my arm.

"C-Come on, Carmen... away from the-"

Two white-ass guys jumped out. The one with blonde spiky hair grabbed Scarlett's arm.

"Aro's been wondering where you went off to."

"Hey! Get off of her, you freak!" I grabbed Scarlett, but couldn't pull her away. The _huge_ black-haired one grabbed me with a freezing cold hand. I tried to pull away, but he was as strong as Embry.

"Where'd the new guard go?" The one holding Scarlett asked the one holding me.

"That wolf must've gotten him! I don't know where it came from!"

"Wolf?" I looked at them both, but they ignored me.

"What do we do with her?"

"Take her to Aro, I think. If he doesn't want her, we at least get a snack." He grinned.

_A... snack?_

* * *

The freaky rapists were carrying us through the woods, ridiculously quickly. I tried fighting them, but nothing was working. I had no idea where we were going, but I was shocked to find that Scarlett made no effort to stop them.

We arrived at a clearing in the woods, filled with people standing in two halves. Half were really, really pale people- I'm talking Cullen-pale- who stood in a kind of formation, the other half were-

_The Cullens?_

"Felix, Demetri!" A guy from the half we were being pulled too grinned. I looked back to the Cullens to see them all standing, looking shocked, wolves surrounding them.

"My wolf." I whispered to myself, seeing him standing at the front of the them, beside a sand-colored wolf.

"We found them right by the forest. They must've been waiting for us." The one holding me informed him.

"Felix, bring Scarlett to me, of course!" The creepy leader guy said, motioning to us. "I've been expecting you, of course..." He turned to look at me. "Well, who might you be?"

"Whoever you want me to be." I smirked, but the way his _red_ eyes widened made a shiver run down my spine. I twirled my hair with my hand and mumbled my response. "Carmen."

"How old are you?"

"Um, sixteen... seventeen in November." I looked at the ground, only glancing up a couple of times. "Are they those colored contacts? I wanted blue ones but the good ones cost, like, twenty dollars and my parents wouldn't give me the cash."

"Well, well, a human that they didn't tell. How peculiar." One of the pale freaks said.

_Tell me what?_

"Two beautiful, beautiful girls... such a shame you're not older, especially if you know our secrets..." He grinned, and I felt cold again, and it wasn't just because of the ice cold hand on my arm.

"Please, let her be one of us." A kid stepped up, his red eyes looked sad as he begged the other one. The sandy colored wolf growled, making me jump.

"Scarlett, if you were to be turned, would you join us, or the Cullens?"

_Join the Cullens? What are they talking about?_

"It's clear where her loyalties lie, Aro. We must-"

All of the wolves started growling, and I shrunk slightly.

"Please allow for a wolf to speak... he has something important to say." Edward Cullen said, stepping forward. I shook my head at how weird this way, but if I'm honest, this is exactly what I'd expect from the pale freaks.

"A wolf?" One blonde haired man said, his face full of disgust.

"Yes." Edward took another step towards us. "Please."

The leader nodded slowly, and Edward and the sandy colored wolf walked forward together. Edward took the hand of the leader, and I resisted the urge to laugh at how creepy this was.

"A mate?" The leader asked as his eyes glazed over. "How peculiar..."

_Mate?_

"She couldn't tell... neither of them could... it's against our nature." Nessie said, walking closer, Bella following right behind her, Emmett following them.

_This is so weird._

"_Our_ nature? Renesmee?"

"I-I'm a mate."

_This just keeps getting weirder and weirder._

"What?" I asked anyone who was listening, but no one responded.

"We cannot allow mates of these... _things_!" The blonde one demanded.

"Alice?" The leader turned to her.

"I told you. I can't see the wolves."

_WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?_

"I'm so confused." I groaned, and ended up receiving an elbow to the side from Scarlett.

"Shut up." I merely scoffed in response.

The pale rapists moved backwards, leaving us in the middle of the two groups.

"What's going on?!" I yelled in Scarlett's face once we were alone..

"Shut up!" She whispered.

"Why are you whispering? Those freaks are all the way over there. They can't hear us." I rolled my eyes at her.

"You'd be surprised."

_What's that supposed to mean?_

"Can we leave yet? What about Leah? I mean, she's lost in the woods and-"

"Leah's fine." Scarlett said, totally self-assured. _Freak._

I turned my head to see where she was looking, and saw a slim silver wolf walk over to the sandy wolf and my wolf.

_My wolf._

"How much do you know?" I asked, nodding my head towards them.

"How much do _you_ know?"

"I asked first."

"I _knew_ first."

"How do you know that I didn't know first?"

"Because I knew before you got here."

"How do you know that I didn't know before I got here?"

"Did you?"

"No."

"Exactly."

"So... what do you know?"

"That depends on what you know-"

_Well, what does that mean?!_

"We have discussed the future of the humans!" The leader announced. We turned to look at the group of pale-ass freaks. The sandy wolf moved to stand beside Scarlett and I gasped slightly, looking at how close they were.

"And?"

"Well... you must understand, our decision is difficult... two prime sixteen year olds-"

"Scarlett isn't even sixteen yet." Nessie said, crying. "Her birthday's not for three months!"

"Sixteen is too young to... do what you want to do." Rosalie said, looking at Scarlett as if she was her daughter, or something.

"Aro, sixteen years old is far too young to-" Carlisle started to back up Rose, but the leader cut him off, stepping forward.

"You've done your research, Carlisle. We intend to complete a series of experiments. The sixteen year olds are merely part of that."

_Experiments? What the f-?!_

"It's too young!" Bella yelled, looking at Nessie. The leader sighed and shook his head.

"If you _must_ know, the sixteen year olds will be placed on a diet and lifestyle of our choosing until they are eighteen, when they shall complete the experiment."

"Diet? Lifestyle?" Bella shook her head. "You can't just... _take_ them!"

"Of course we can." The blonde guy smiled a creepy smile. "We can do as we please."

"And so, we'll either take them for our experiment, or dispose of the _problem_."

_Dispose?!_

"What the hell is going on?!" I yelled, cringing at how pathetic I sounded, but I was scared as hell.

A guy grabbed me, causing Mr Wolf to run towards me. I couldn't comprehend what else was going on around me, only being able to focus on how much I loved him.

I always loved him. From the minute I saw him.

But I felt that way about Embry...

I loved them both...

So much-

I was only brought back to reality by Scarlett screaming.

I snapped my head towards her as she fell to the ground, but no one was touching her. Only a little girl (who looked scarier than the others combined, if I'm honest), who was just staring at her. The sandy wolf sprinted towards her and I heard myself screech when it ripped her arms off.

"What are you doing?!" I screamed, clamping my hands over my mouth as tears streamed down my eyes. The rest of the wolves and the pale people started fighting too, then the Cullens joined in. I stood, frozen, as the people I counted as 'kinda friends' started fighting with the others.

This was too weird.

I screamed when my wolf appeared out of nowhere and moved to beside me. He was fighting with one of the pale freaks, and looked like he was struggling. I couldn't move, I was so scared. The silver wolf ran over and helped Mr Wolf, tearing the man apart. I felt tears run down my face, and my wolf turned back to me and walked closer. I felt my legs move backwards, but I wasn't really aware I was doing it.

The silver wolf ran to where Scarlett was lying, unconscious, surrounded by the wolves and pale people. They ripped apart more people, piling them up like it was totally normal, before Edward walked over and threw a lighter into the pile, then walked away again. I couldn't help myself and I screamed again.

I looked back at Scarlett. The boy and the sandy wolf were standing over Scarlett, looking ready to fight.

"Leave her alone!" I ran at them, ignoring the barks from my wolf. "You freaks!"

The boy watched me for a second, before looking back to Scarlett. The wolf jumped over Scarlett and onto the poor boy, trying to bite his head. I ran to Scarlett, who's eyes flickered open a few times.

"Scarlett, Scarlett, stand up, come on, we have to move, come on!" I grabbed her arm and tugged on her. She looked at me, but squinted slightly.

"I...I-"

"Scarlett, move!" I pulled on her arm again, but let go when ice cold arms wrapped around me and pulled me away.

His ice cold hand grabbed my neck and held me tight. He lifted me off of the ground. I tried to pry his hands away, but he was too strong. I couldn't breathe anymore. I felt my eyes start to close as the lack of oxygen made me start to fall unconscious. He dropped me and I took deep breaths, trying to get some air into my lungs. I looked up to see Mr Wolf fighting off the man who had attacked me, two other wolves helping.

I heard Scarlett scream, and saw the sandy wolf bite the boy's neck, then throw him away, before his body started to change, similarly to when Mr Wolf changed. I pushed myself off of the ground and took a step towards them as he dropped to the ground and picked her up.

"Edward!" He yelled, turning his face to the side. I stopped for a split second as I took in who it was.

Seth.

The constantly sweet and happy little guy was a wolf.

A wolf who was best friends with my wolf.

I walked closer, as did the wolves and the Cullens.

"What do we do?" Seth asked, holding Scarlett to him.

"I-I don't know." Edward shook his head, sitting across from him.

"Save her!" Nessie cried.

"You will not add another member to your coven, Carlisle." The leader of the pale people said, suddenly beside us.

_Coven?_

"We didn't intend to. The venom is spreading. We need to make a decision." Carlisle sighed.

_Venom?_

"A decision?" Seth asked, right before Scarlett screamed.

"Save her like you saved me." Bella said.

_What?_

"Please, Daddy. Please." Nessie wept into Bella's shoulder.

"Seth?" Edward looked at him, and the two had a private conversation, before Edward nodded, lifting up Scarlett's arm and examining it. It was then I noticed a set of bite marks on her arm.

I took a step back, not wanting to be around these freaks.

_What the hell was going on?_

I stopped, a little while away, looking back at my wolf, who looked up at me with sad eyes. Familiar eyes.

_I knew those eyes. _

I counted the wolves, one by one.

Thirteen.

How many friends did Seth have?

Eleven. Including him, that's twelve.

Twelve warm, strong, fast men who are often half-naked, or wearing little clothing. His sister was the same.

That's thirteen.

Thirteen wolves, thirteen friends.

My wolf was one of those wolves, one of those friends.

And I knew exactly which one he was.

Embry.

* * *

**I don't know how you'll feel about this, but I hope you like it! Let me know in a review what you think of this chapter! Thanks for reading! :D**


	15. Boulevard of Broken Dreams

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **Green Day

**15. **Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Thank you to everyone! Sorry it took so long! Really, I'm sorry :( It's also really short, plus I'm having uploading issues with spaces between letters? I don't know why, but it's unintentional, just in case you see any. I've tried to remove them, but I don't know... and some words might be missing due to this problem, too... Ugh. It's not my week! Haha! :D Thanks :)

* * *

_I walk a lonely road_  
_The only one that I have ever known_  
_Don't know where it goes_  
_But it's home to me and I walk alone...  
_

_Carmen POV_

I put my hands over my mouth and nose, trying to silence myself like I always did when I cried. I stumbled back when my eyes met his. Mr Wolf's. Embry's.

Embry.

He was my wolf.

He was _a_ wolf.

What the hell?!

"She knows." I heard Edward say, before he looked around the group, lingering on Nessie, then Seth. I watched as Seth nodded, before Edward raised Scarlett's arm to his mouth, and-

Oh my god.

He was _biting _her. Sucking her blood.

Okay, I'm ready to wake up now!

"Edward." Carlisle said, and he dropped her arm, standing up. Bella and Jasper both stood too, moving away from both Edward and Scarlett. I saw Carlisle remove his jacket and wrap it around Scarlett's arm. "We should take her home, bandage her arm , then get her to the hospital."

They all stood up, Seth picking up Scarlett, then turned around. It was all of them, then me. I felt like screaming.

What was wrong with these people?

Werewolves?

Vampires?

What? Was Nessie gonna turn out to really be Chucky?

Embry-Wolf walked towards me, and I immediately started walking backwards. He continued to walk towards me, me moving away, before I turned and ran.

It was all I could do.

I mean, what would you do if your best friend/kinda boyfriend was actually a wolf/the love of your life?

If you say you'd run into his arms, you're lying.

And to think, Scarlett knew. Nessie too, apparently. I'd bet that everyone knew. Who could I trust in this town anymore?

I was running through the trees, careful not to trip on the roots or slip on the leaves. I wanted to be as far away from the woods as possible. As far away from _them_ as possible.

* * *

_Embry POV_

I ran to her house as soon as Edward had drained the venom from Scarlett's arm. Ugh, I still shudder to think how it would feel to have leech-poison flowing through your veins. The Volturi had cleared off after Carlisle told them what Edward was gonna do- 'Only Bella could survive that!'.

I was outside her house, standing in only my shorts, in the tree line, trying to work out what I was gonna say. I wanted to just run inside and hold her, tell her that I loved her, but she didn't need that.

I moved closer to her window. The drapes were open, and she was lying on her bed , her face to the wall. I was considering knocking on the window, when she sat up and turned her head to look at me. I pressed my hand to the window, leaning against it as she climbed off of her bed and walked out of the room, appearing at the backdoor just seconds later .

She stood with her arms over her chest, keeping her distance, which made my chest tighten. Her eyes were red and slightly swollen, but she wasn't crying now. She still looked beautiful. Even when she hated me, she was perfect.

"Well, I guess the wolf's out of the bag ."

She laughed lightly, and it sounded beautiful, even though it was tired and saddened.

"What?" She shook her head a little, looking down.

"I'm trying to coin it as a catchphrase."

She laughed again, but as soon as she finished, her smile fell and she looked down.

"You should've told me."

"I know."

"You should've told me!" She looked up, her eyes filled with anger.

"I know!" I stepped towards her, but she stepped back.

"Why didn't you?!" Her eyes filled with tears, but she made quick work to wipe t hem away.

"I-I-!"

"I get that you couldn't at first, weren't allowed to, whatever! But... but after I knew you were human-!"

"I'm sorry!" I took another step towards her, desperate to hold her, but she stepped back until she was pressed against the door. "Carmen-!"

"Stay away from me." She held a hand up, and locked her jaw. "Y-You're a... you' re a..."

"What?" I stepped forward again, and she pushed herself as far into the door as possible, her eyes looking to the left, her voice a whisper.

"You're a monster."

"Carmen..."

"You killed someone. Right in front of me."

"I was protecting you... those... they're not... they're not people! Not... human!" I didn't want her to have to deal with all of this right now. I wanted to tell her in steps. Ease her into it. _  
_

_Why didn't I just tell her when she foun d out I was human?_

"You're a monster!"

"Carmen!" I reached out and finally managed to reach her. She tried to turn around, so I pulled her back into my chest .

"No! Let me go!" She tried to pull my arms off of her, but I refused to let her go. I had an arm around her waist and another around her shoulder, holding her to me.

"Carmen, please!"

"Let go of me!" She started crying, putting her head down so that her hair covered her face.

"I'm sorry!" I couldn't stop myself from putting my face onto her neck, whispering to her. "I'm sorry."

"Please let me go." She whispered. "Please."

"I love you." I let her go, but she didn't move.

"No, you don't." She said, simply. My eyebrows knitted together, completely confused.

"Carmen, I love you."

"No. You can't."

"Carmen, what do you-?"

"Because, if you love someone, you'd _never_ make them feel like I do, right now.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you." I was almost in tears myself, but I held them in .

"Leave me alone."

"Carmen, I-"

"I want you to leave me alone."

That did it. It was worse than an alpha command. I turned and walked back into the treeline, glancing back one more time to see Carmen standing with her forehead against the door, crying.

_I made her cry. _

_Again._

I am the _worst_ wolf. Ever.

I phased when I hit the treeline, ripping through my shorts. I didn't care about that anymore. I didn't care about_ anything_ anymore. I could only feel Carmen's rejection.

And I had the feeling I'd feel like that for a while...

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**Thank you for reading! I'll update soon, I promise! :D It's so short- I'm so sorry! I've been a little frazzled, but I'm back on track, and I have two weeks free right now, so I can write, write, write! I know where this is going- so don't worry ;););) :D:D:D:D Let me know what you think-**


	16. Should I Stay Or Should I Go

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **The Clash

**16. **Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Thanks for reading and reviewing, sorry I didn't reply to reviews a couple of chapters back, but I just didn't have the time. Thanks to readers and reviewers and favoriters and followers :D

* * *

_Darling you gotta let me know  
Should I stay or should I go?  
If you say that you are mine  
I'll be here til the end of time  
So you got to let know  
Should I stay or should I go?_

_Carmen POV_

It'd been a month.

A month without Embry.

A month knowing he was a wolf- my wolf.

A month knowing the people down the street were vampires and werewolves.

I couldn't believe it.

I spent my days either at home or at a friend's house in Forks. I didn't go anywhere I could risk running into one of _them_ and made sure to avoid meeting one of _them_ on my way in and out of my house.

I stood at the window, slightly hidden by the drapes, peeking out to see if Quil had moved off of his front porch. He'd been standing there all morning, so it was safe to say that he knew I was avoiding _them_. I was waiting for him to get bored or something, but no. He stood there for hours, his mom bringing him out food.

My phone vibrated, and as always, my heart rate increased slightly, worrying it was one of _them_. It was only Edith, wondering where I was. No doubt wondering why I was still so much more jumpy, on edge, and all around more crazy than she had left me at the start of summer vacation.

I had requested so many times to go home that it was child cruelty that I was still here. Apparently I hadn't learned anything- so eager to 'get back to partying and doing drugs and having sex and trying to ruin my life' - my mother's words, not mine. Hell, I don't even do drugs! I just want to go home to get the hell away from _them_! They were gonna come here. I didn't want that! It was bad enough that Grammy lived in a town with these _things_, let alone allowing _more_ family who I loved to come here!

Seriously, not okay.

"Why are you hanging out at the window? Go over to Quil's house and see your friends." Grammy mumbled, still watching TV. I found myself glaring at her, but quickly recovered and shook my head.

"No... I don't... I'm going to Edith's in a little while."

"Oh. Well, could you at least take that check over to Jenny. I owe her for bringing over that last bag of groceries."

"No!" I didn't mean to yell, but I was on edge because of this whole thing, plus, I hadn't slept in a _long_ time, and it didn't help that I could hear sad wolf howls all the time.

_Ugh_.

"Do it now, Carmen." Grammy murmured.

"No!"

"Carmen!" She looked at me, her face hard, commanding me. I thought briefly as to what doing something _really_ bad would be punished with.

I mean, pregnancy was punished with being sent here. If I got pregnant again, would Grammy send me home? Or would it be Grammy's personal punishment? As in, a week with the vampires- no garlic allowed.

"Fine." I took a deep breath, but I could feel tears fighting to the surface. I was scared of _them_.

I picked the check that Grammy had talked about up off of the coffee table and took another deep breath, before I walked over to the front door, slowly.

"Are you going straight to little Eddie's house afterwards?"

"Edith, Grammy... and... uh... sure..." _If I don't get eaten by a wolf or a vampire before then._ "I love you."

"I love you too, sweet girl." She smiled at me, before turning back to the TV.

I took another deep breath, before I opened my front door. I took _another_ deep breath, before stepping out, onto my porch.

I nearly ran straight back into my house.

Embry was walking up to Quil's house.

My heart exploded at my luck. My fricken luck, huh?

"Embry! Man!" Quil grinned, extending his arms, not noticing me. Embry did notice, however.

"C-Carmen." His voice sounded kind of breathless, like he couldn't believe that I was really there. I gasped at the sound of my name from him. It'd been so long since I heard it.

_The last time was right before I told him I wanted him to leave me alone. _

I walked quickly down the steps on my porch to Quil's house and extended my arm, handing him the check, without stepping onto the porch.

"H-Here. This is for, uh, y-your m-mom." I mumbled, before I turned away and tried to walk away, but collided with Embry.

Even through his shirt and my three layers of clothing, I still felt tingles where he touched me. I cleared my throat and considered punching the butterflies in my stomach, before I glanced up.

_Worst mistake._

His skin was pale, except for under his eyes, where there were big black bags. His hair seemed dull, and his eyes seemed sad. We matched. My hair and eyes were dull. My skin was pale, with huge dark circles around my eyes.

But still, he was beautiful. And those sad eyes were still perfect, and they still made me want to confess my undying love for him.

But he was a wolf.

A monster.

A lying monster.

_Wow, what are you more angry about Carmen? The fact he killed someone, or the fact he lied to you? Hello? Priorities!_

Ugh.

"Hi."

I couldn't believe how just _that_ affected me. I didn't reply, only moving away quickly and walking down the sidewalk, intent on getting to the bus stop as quick as possible.

* * *

"What's up with you?" Edith asked, breaking the long silence that had fallen in her room. I lay on her pink bed, staring up at the pink ceiling.

"What's up with your room?"

"I've had it since I was twelve, so shut up." She scoffed. "But, okay, so don't... don't 'shut up'. Tell me what's wrong."

"I can't."

"Whatever." She lay next to me. "Is it Embry Call?"

"Shut up."

"So, it is?" I didn't reply. "What? Did he impregnate you or something?"

"What?" I sat up. "Edie!"

"What? It's a reasonable question!"

"Shut up." I lay back down.

"Is it that 'Wolfgang' guy?"

I felt my heart break at the thought of once being so desperately in love with Embry and his wolf-form.

"Are you torn between the two?" She asked, nudging me. "Choose Embry."

"What?"

"Well, I don't know 'Wolfgang', but I _do_ know Embry Call, and I know that he's hopelessly in love with you."

"Edith-"

"He used to just be that quiet guy who hung out with his friends. The entire female population of Washington lined up to date him when he started asking girls out regularly. When you turned up... he just... he stopped caring about any other girl. A guy who loves you _that_ much deserves you."

"Edith, I-"

"Just... just choose him." She sighed. "He totally deserves it."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I mean, he doesn't have a dad or anything, and his mom's a total tyrant when she wants to be. Plus, I heard a rumor that Sam Uley's dad is his dad. Could you imagine that? Obviously we can't, because we have our dad's... but... one of his friend's is actually his _brother_. That's quite the jump."

"I guess..."

"Poor Embry."

"Yeah... poor Embry."

"So, yeah, choose him."

_Now I'm even more fricken confused._

* * *

I walked home that night, intent on clearing my head... also, I may or may not have missed the last bus...

I just have _all_ the luck, right?

Speaking of luck...

Was that a rustling in the trees beside me?

_FRICK._

"Carmen?"

I turned to the woods to see Embry step out, wearing only his shorts.

_Don't look at his pecks. If you do then you're a goner. _

_Damn it, you just looked!_

"Um..."

"What are you doing walking by yourself? You could get hurt!"

Was he... angry with me? Sure sounded like it! Jerk!

"I'm not a child, Embry, I can take care of myself."

"Well, clearly you can't, because you're walking alone at night in the pouring rain right next to the woods where anyone could jump out-!"

"What, like a half naked guy who I asked to leave me alone?!" I asked, and he stopped talking, his face falling slightly. "Or maybe a werewolf. Or even a _vampire_!"

"Don't say that, Carmen!" He stepped closer to me and grabbed my wrist.

"Let go of me!"

"I love you."

I was shocked. I kept remembering him saying it over and over again in my mind, but it was different from actually _hearing_ it.

"Let me go."

"Carmen, I love you."

I felt tears start to fall down my face, and I quickly wiped them away with my free hand.

"I love you."

"Stop saying that."

"I love you."

"Stop saying that."

"I love you."

"Stop it!" I felt myself break into a sob, and covered my mouth with my hand.

I squeezed my eyes shut and cried as quietly as I could. I felt the heat of his body get closer, then felt his hand touch the one covering my mouth, and try to pull it away. I shook my head in response, but he pulled my hand away from my face easily.

When I opened my eyes, he was right in front of me. I closed my eyes again quickly, trying to stop my tears.

"I love you." He whispered, leaning down and kissing my forehead.

"I love you too." I whispered back, opening my eyes to look at him. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes seemed happier.

"You do?" He smiled gently, but I only nodded in response. He leaned in again and kissed my forehead again.

"I love you so much, it hurts to be away from you." I admitted, my words breaking with my tears.

"I'm sorry I hurt you." He moved closer, so that we were pressed together. He released my hands and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me up to his height, and putting his head into my neck.

"You're not a monster."

"I love you."

I smiled a little, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Are you gonna kiss me, or what?" I chuckled, my voice still more feeble than I would've liked. He lifted his head up and looked surprised, but grinned, before leaning in.

It was like a person receiving water after a year without rain. It was like a drug addict getting their fix. It was like people in love being reunited.

It was perfect.

He pulled away, and let my feet touch the ground, but didn't remove his arms.

"Will you come to my house?" I asked, quietly, unsure about what he would answer.

"I-I can't." His face looked pained. "I want to, _so_ badly."

"So come." I didn't hide the hurt in my voice. Surely, if someone loves you, they shouldn't _reject_ you, right?

"I can't."

"Why?"

"You don't want to know."

"Why?" I repeated, extremely pissed off.

"I have to... patrol."

"I don't know what that means."

"I know."

"So tell me."

"I'd rather wait and explain it to you when we have time-"

"I want to know now."

He paused, sighing.

"I have to help the guys patrol the area for rogue vampires."

I gasped.

"They come here? They, like, eat people?!"

"No, we don't let them-!"

"Oh my god!" I moved my hands to cover my mouth as my jaw hung open in shock. "And you, patrol, like, as a wolf?"

"Yes."

I gasped again.

"Wh-Who's a wolf right now? In there?" I pointed to the woods beside us.

"Well, it's supposed to be me and Leah, but right now, it's just her."

"You patrol with Leah?"

I didn't realize how jealous I was until I said that out loud.

"Well, yeah. We used to, then we all switched, but now I'm back with her. Why?"

_Because I don't want you two hanging out as wolves._

I decided to just ignore his question.

"Are you always naked when you un-wolf?"

He laughed at my terminology. "Yeah, but we don't 'wolf' and 'un-wolf', we phase."

"Phase. Yes, I'll remember that, I'm sure." I said, sarcastically.

"It took Scarlett two weeks to learn."

"Yeah, but she's ditsy." I thought back to my kinda-friend who I'd not seen for weeks, and gasped. "How is she? Is she okay? Alive?!"

"She's fine!" He laughed at me a little.

I stood for a couple of seconds before I remembered that I was jealous.

"So, you and Leah just hang around together _naked_?"

"No-!"

"So, you haven't seen her naked?"

"Well, yeah... but-!"

"And she's seen you naked?" I scoffed and stepped back, crossing my arms. He scratched the back of his neck.

"Don't be jealous-"

"I'm not jealous." I scoffed again, trying to convince him I wasn't lying. It was weird for me- I'd never really been jealous.

The only times I've been jealous is when someone thinks another girl is hotter than me, and that doesn't happen a lot- like I said, confidence is _everything._

"Right." He chuckled, stepping a little bit closer to me.

"I'm not."

"_Right_."

"I'm not!"

"Yeah, yeah, I believe you."

"Embry!"

He stepped forward and put his arms around me, kissing my forehead.

"Will you come over later?"

"You'll be asleep."

"No, I won't-"

"Yes, you will." He smiled and then leaned down to kiss me.

"So when are you gonna tell me all about the joys of being a werewolf?"

"I will if you come to the bonfire next Friday."

I thought back to the last bonfire they had.

I was pissed and I hated Embry and I totally alienated everyone.

"Nobody wants _me _there." I hoped to hide my sadness and embarrassment about that, but I'm sure he could see right through it.

"Trust me, _everyone_ will be glad you're there." He chuckled to himself, like it was a private joke. I ignored my confusion and kissed his jaw. _Ah, that jaw.__  
_

"Okay... well-"

"Embry!" Leah was at the edge of the trees, dressed in shorts and an old t-shirt.

_How is she still hotter than me? Bitch._

"What? Is there a scent?" He asked.

"No, but Jacob's being an ass and phasing randomly to make sure none of us are 'lacking in our duties'." She rolled her eyes.

"He's just trying to be a good new alpha."

_Woah, what the hell is going on here? I get Math better than these conversations._

"Well, whatever the hell it is, it's annoying and he better quit it soon or I'm gonna-"

There was a low growl that made me jump slightly in Embry's arms.

"Oh, shut up, Jake, you're scaring her." Leah scoffed, folding her arms. "So, anyway, you have to come back now, or else Jacob's gonna-"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." Embry rolled his eyes, then smiled at me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

I glanced back to Leah, who was waiting for Embry, looking as perfect as ever, and made, what I thought, was a smart move, and kissed him as passionately as ever.

"Ew." Leah whined. "I'll meet you in there, _soon_."

I released Embry, but he kissed me again, lightly.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

**I hope you like this chapter- I know it's late to be uploaded, but it's here! Yay! Thanks for reading! :D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D**


	17. Iris

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **Goo Goo Dolls

**16. **Iris

Thanks to readers and reviewers and favoriters and followers, hopefully you'll like this! :D

* * *

_And I don't want the world to see me  
'Cause I don't think that they'd understand  
When everything's made to be broken  
I just want you to know who I am..._

_Carmen POV_

"So... I had a great time on our..."

"Date."

"Uh, sure, whatever." I cleared my throat. I hated that. It was so... committed! I mean, I love Embry, I really do!

_But_... I haven't _dated_ since I was with Chad, the first and last guy to cheat on me, and I'd avoided dating to avoid that! Me and Vince didn't date. We were just... together. When we went out, it was just that- going out. We didn't do the movie-dinner-date thing, and we could sleep with who we wanted, when we wanted... I just got to preferring him over anyone else.

Speaking of getting some...

"You wanna come inside? I'm home alone tonight."

It had been a _long_ time since I'd done it and I was missing it. I tried to think back to when the magnificent moment had occurred last...

MONTHS.

I'm gonna round it to around thirty years, because that's what it fricken feels like.

And the last time was with-

EW!

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

The last person I... acted... with, was _Logan Wilms_. He's a werewolf. And a douche.

"Carmen? You okay? You kinda look like you're gonna throw up." Embry was in front of my in a second, holding his hand to my head.

"You seriously expect to feel a fever?" I rolled my eyes. "You're, like, a thousand degrees hotter than the sun."

"You're not too bad yourself." He smirked. I felt blush begin to rise at my stupidity, but I scoffed and turned before he could see.

"Not too bad? As if!"

I felt his arms wrap around my waist and pull me to him.

"You're hot." He kissed my cheek, my back pressed to his chest. "And beautiful." He kissed my cheek again. "You're perfect."

I turned so that I was facing him, and wrapped my arms around his neck, going onto my tip toes to kiss him as passionately as I could. I pulled away, but before I could even move my head back, his mouth was on mine again.

"EW! SICK!"

I scowled at that voice and heard Embry growl slightly. _Hot._

"Go away, Quil!" Embry yelled, not turning around.

"I come out here, onto my own porch, expecting to run into the forest and begin a pleasant patrol with my good friend, Jake. Instead, I get to view pornography on my neighbor's porch!"

"You wanna yell about patrol any louder?!" Embry yelled back.

"I can yell as loud as I want! I think I have post-traumatic-stress-disorder! I should sue!"

"Quil!" I yelled, my teeth gritted together. "Now is _not_ the time!"

"Get a room!"

"QUIL!"

"I'm going, I'm going!"

"Well, that didn't ruin the moment or anything." I muttered, making Embry laugh.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed me lightly, lingering for just a second, before he hugged me closely, then walked back down the porch steps.

* * *

The next morning, Embry took me to Emily and Sam's house, which I was a little nervous about. I hadn't spent much time with them, but I realized that I was supposed to be BFF's with them all if I was '_dating'_ Embry, just like Kim and Nessie were.

Ugh.

Talk about difficult. I can't make friends with them when I don't have the fricken added pressure of werewolvery around, let alone _with_ the werewolvery.

Is that even a word?

What am I saying?

Of course it's not- werewolves aren't supposed to exist.

I keep forgetting that.

"Hi Carmen!" Emily hugged me as I entered the kitchen with Embry. "Hi Embry!"

"Hello." I murmured.

"Hey, Em." Embry said, moving passed me to take some of the food that she had prepared.

"It's so nice to see you, Carmen!" Emily hugged me again.

"Who's around?" Embry asked, his mouth full.

"Jared just left for patrol with Logan and Leah was covering for Jake, so she and Quil should be here soon."

_Ugh._

I was fricken jealous of the beautiful bitch, and she was a werewolf. Frick! I love Embry too much.

"Oh? Cool."

_Why_ did Embry think that Leah covering Jake's patrol and then coming to Sam and Emily's was 'cool'? Was it because he missed her? Because he was in love with her and not me?

Damn it!

I do _not_ get jealous like this.

I do _not_ doubt myself.

Carmen Bird _does not_ doubt her hotness!

_Ever!_

"Emily!" I heard Quil before I saw him emerge through the door. "There better be muffins left!"

"Is that a threat, Quil?" Emily chuckled.

"Not from me, Leah, maybe."

"It is." Leah walked in behind him, all perfect in a 'I've-just-been-rolling-around-in-a-forest-as-a-gi ant-wolf' sort of way.

Bitch.

"Hey!" Quil slapped Embry's shoulder, then tapped mine, before going to sit at the table. "Wow, was last night awkward, huh?"

"Shut up." I scoffed, sitting next to him. Embry sat on the other side of me.

"What happened?" Leah asked, sitting next to Quil, which made me feel very happy.

"I caught the two lovebirds doing it on the Bird front porch."

"We weren't _doing_ _it!_" Embry said, so loudly, sounding so _offended_, that I felt my body lean away from him automatically- something I never did.

"No, we were just making out against the door frame."

It came out before I could stop it. It was like when I told everyone at dinner that I slept with Logan (ew, I just puked in my mouth again). It was a relaxed tone, as if I hadn't just said something perverse.

"I'm eating." Leah groaned, her mouth full. I felt a sense of smugness run through me, until Embry did an awkward chuckle.

"So, Carmen, you coming to the bonfire tonight?" Quil asked, before he assassinated another muffin.

"Uh, I haven't been invited." I tried to hide how hurt I was that Embry hadn't bothered to even invite me. The last one may not have been all that good, but still, he should want me there, right?

"I didn't think you'd wanna go. I didn't think you liked those sorts of things." Embry grabbed my hand, clearly trying to show how sorry he was.

But seriously.

I loved big parties. I mean, come on, back home I was ridiculously popular. And I figured I could really get into one of these bonfires if I wasn't pissed off at Embry.

"Well, do you wanna come?" Embry looked at me, stopping eating for a minute. I nodded, trying to act nonchalant.

"Oh! It'll be so much fun!" Emily grinned. "And they're doing the legends too!"

A bunch of old guys rambling about boring old stories that Grammy used to yell at Mom and Dad to teach me?

_Fun._

* * *

I was wrong.

So. Wrong.

The legends were amazing.

They were more than amazing!

One that really stuck out to me was the Third Wife. I mean, who sacrifices herself like that? It was just... wow. I remembered how Embry held me a little closer then. And when I'd looked around, most of the guys did. And I remembered the way that my eyes naturally went to Nessie when they talked about vampires. I mean, her family were these monsters, right?

But then, Billy spoke of this 'treaty' between the Pack and a group of good vampires, and Scarlett had nudged Nessie with her leg.

Did that mean that they were good?

They didn't _seem_ good when Edward Cullen had his teeth in Scarlett's arm, but she didn't seem angry at Nessie or anything. It was all just _really_ weird.

"Did you like the stories?" Embry asked, lifting up my head so I could look up at him from my place on his lap.

"Yeah." I mumbled, not knowing how to put into words how amazing they were.

"They're all true, as you probably guessed." Embry seemed a little nervous. It made _me_ nervous.

"Yeah...?"

"Well, there was that one about the Third-"

"Come on, Quil! We're all going!" I heard Logan's voice, and turned my head to face them.

"But I was planning on running up to see Claire!"

"Fine, be a baby lover and ditch your friends!" Logan whined.

"_You're_ not my friend!"

"What's going on?" I asked Embry. He just shrugged, so I moved to stand up. He was standing next to me in a second.

"Even Seth is letting Scarlett go!" Logan poked Quil's arm.

"Let him go see Claire, kid." Jacob rolled his eyes, Nessie giggling in his arms.

"What's going on?" Embry asked, wrapping an arm around me and walking me over to where the bulk of the Pack were gathered.

"We're all heading to Jake's for after bonfire fun!" Nessie grinned. I automatically heard it differently than intended and burst into laughter. "Shut up, Carmen!"

"Can't." I said, calming my laughter.

"Do you wanna come or not?" Nessie said, furrowing her brow. I felt myself start to smile, but pushed it down as much as I could.

"Sure."

"Are you sure?" Embry asked, sounding a little unsure, himself.

"Definitely."

* * *

"Let's play spin the bottle!" Logan half-squealed.

"No." Jacob said, rolling his eyes.

"Why not?!"

"Because of the 'I' thing and that no guy's gonna want to do that." Jacob replied. I looked around the room. Everyone had tensed a little. Was it this 'I' thing?

Was I not supposed to find out what that was?

Because now I totally had too.

"What's the 'I' thing?" I asked the room. No one responded, but they seemed to freeze up even more.

No one spoke for several seconds, then Embry cleared his throat.

"Uh... So... Uh... Spin the bottle?" Logan looked around. Everyone hesitated for just a second before we were all in a circle on the floor and Logan was downing a full bottle of beer.

"Dude, slow down." I scoffed, twirling my hair.

"Werewolf temperature. It'll burn off the alcohol before he could get another one." Embry said. I nodded and watched as Logan pulled the bottle from his mouth and shook his head.

"Seven, eight, nine, ten." Logan counted before looking up and put the bottle in the middle.

"Drunk?" Scarlett asked. He shook his head and scoffed.

"Me first, I guess." Logan spun the bottle.

It passed me once, twice, three times, to land on Rachel. I heard Paul make a growl noise, which made me jump slightly.

"Oh, calm down. It's fun." Rachel patted Paul's leg, before she and Logan kissed for just a second, before Rachel was spinning it.

It landed on Embry, and I found myself feeling the strongest urge to punch Rachel in the jaw.

Well, hey.

At least it wasn't Leah.

Embry spun the bottle. I was thinking that it'd just be cliche and land on me, but it went of the other cliche, and landed on _her._

I had to lock my fingers together to keep from attacking her when he kissed her.

I fricken hate Leah Clearwater!

* * *

I'd kissed two people- Seth and Jared.

Kim and Scarlett seemed pretty pissed, but that only made me feel better about my reactions to Rachel and Leah kissing him.

"I'll see you tomorrow?" Embry said as he walked me to my front door.

"Of course." I grinned, leaning in and kissing him with as much passion I could muster at midnight in front of my grandmother's home.

"I might even see you tonight."

"Huh?"

"I'm on patrol. Should I come by?"

"Sure." I grinned as wide as I could. I didn't want to tell Embry that I was a little nervous of seeing him like that considering the last time I'd seen him like that I'd run away because I'd realized that Mr Wolf was Embry.

"Love you."

"Love you too."

We kissed again, before I went inside and straight to my room, sitting on my bed, waiting for Embry.

* * *

I woke up the next morning in my clothes, but lying under my covers, with the drapes closed. I knew that I'd left my drapes open to see Embry, and I was sure I'd been sitting up in bed... weird.

In my head, I kept remembering my dream.

_"Call, geez, you barely know the girl!"_

_"She doesn't even know you're her imprint yet and you're letting her take your innocence on her grandma's couch?"_

_"Hey, at least he's finally gonna let her take his innocence, I don't think I can handle his whining on patrol anymore!"_

_"Shut up, she might hear you-!"_

_"She won't, shut up!"_

It was a memory of when Jared, Paul and Quil came into my house, interrupting me and Embry making out.

One word stuck out to me.

_Imprint_.

It began with an 'I' right?

Maybe that was the 'I' thing...

* * *

I showered and changed, before walking to the living room to see Grammy.

I was sitting at home, watching Cupcake Wars with Grammy, discussing whether or not I'd win, when the doorbell rang.

This was an odd occurrence anywhere in La Push, I had learned, but definitely strange at the Bird House. The Pack just walked right in, even Jacob, and he hated me.

"Would you get that, Carmy?" Grammy asked, in her sweet old lady voice that made anyone with a heart obey whatever command had been given.

I stood up and walked to the door, not bothering to check at the window or anything.

I mean, come on. It's La Push. Am I really gonna get attacked in the middle of the day at my front door? No. Especially not when I have a wolf living next door and another two in the woods _all_ the time.

If it was a vampire, it could be a different story, but then again, it's the middle of the day, and surely, they would be burning because of the sun. So, yeah. I was totally safe.

"Carm!" The strong Brooklyn accent that my body had all but forgotten hit me like a train, then his body did too, pulling my into a tight hug.

"Vince?"

"Miss me?"

Frick.

* * *

**PLOT TWIST OOOO! Haha. I hope this isn't too long of a wait, but I'll try to update sooner anyway :) thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, etc. THANKS! :D Hope you liked it! **


	18. I'm Yours

_**California Girl**_

**Thanks for the reviews! And thank you to the people who read this and my other story too, you're all wonderful! :D**

**Cross Promotion Time: I have another story all about Scarlett and Seth, so if you like Seth/OC stories, check it out :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, but I own the characters of The Bird Family, The Hunter Family and friends. Thanks!**

**Chapter Song **Jason Mraz

**18. **I'm Yours

Thanks to readers and reviewers and favoriters and followers, hopefully you'll like this! It's short, but I have some ideas for new chapters :D

* * *

_So I won't hesitate_  
_No more, no more._  
_It cannot wait,_  
_I'm sure._  
_There's no need to complicate._  
_Our time is short._  
_This is our fate,_  
_I'm yours..._

_Carmen POV_

_"Carm!" The strong Brooklyn accent that my body had all but forgotten hit me like a train, then his body did too, pulling my into a tight hug._

_"Vince?"_

_"Miss me?"_

_Frick._

Frick.

FRICK.

"Carm?" He pulled away and looked at me, wondering why I hadn't responded to him.

"Uh... Um... What are you, um, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see my girl! Your parents said you weren't coming home. What's that about?"

"Um, they said that I hadn't learned my lesson, or something." I mumbled, looking down. His hand lifted my face up, and before I could do anything, his mouth was on mine.

His lips weren't right. Not at all. They weren't soft and gentle and a thousand degrees hotter than the sun. They didn't kiss me like I was the most important thing in the whole entire world.

The kiss didn't give me the butterflies I'd grown to love. In fact, it made them sad. I felt a pit of disgust well up in my stomach at the thought of this kiss.

My arms were about to come out of their shocked state to push him back as hard as I could, when I heard a gasp that made Vince jump and turn his head to the next porch.

Quil and Jacob stood there. Quil's eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open. Jacob shook his head, glaring at me. Quil blinked a couple of times, before he closed his mouth, then opened it again to say something, but was cut off by Jacob pushing him into his house.

"Damn, neighbors, huh?" Vince chuckled.

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't think.

Then a thought hit me immediately.

I had to tell Embry.

I had to get to him and explain everything before he saw it through Quil's eyes, or even worse, Jacob's.

"Uh... W-Where are you staying?"

"I don't know." He laughed again. "I guess I'll get the bus back into Port Angeles. I figured we could hook up or something but you're clearly not dressed for it."

I looked down at myself, suddenly self conscious. I was wearing my old SDU sweater and a pair of yoga pants with a hole at the knee. Embry had never cared, and I'd become slightly complacent.

"Um... yeah, well, I have to, you know... my grammy... I have stuff to do all day... I... Um... Yeah."

"It's cool. I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned in to kiss me again, but I was prepared this time, and turned my face to the side. He scoffed slightly, but turned to leave.

"See you." I mumbled, walking back inside, watching as he made his way to the bus stop up the street, before I snuck back out the door and bolted as fast as I could to Embry's house.

* * *

I climbed the tree by his window and went through the always open window. He sat up from his bed, his hair messed up (looking hot as hell, I'd like to add), his eyes half-closed. They opened as soon as he saw me, though.

"Carmen!" He held his arms out, so I ran into him, attacking him with kisses all over his face.

"I have to tell you something!" I grabbed the sides of his face and looked him in the eye. "And you can't listen to what Jacob says!"

"I never listen to what Jake says." He chuckled. "What is it?"

"I-I... I don't want to say." I was chickening out. What if Embry dumped me? I didn't think I'd be able to cope.

"Carmen?" His expression changed to worry, and he stroked my cheek gently. "Talk to me."

"I... Um... Vince." It was all I could manage, but it still seemed to alarm Embry.

"What?"

"He's here... in Washington... he, um, he kissed me... a-and that's what I had to tell you because... because it was only for a second but Quil and Jacob saw and Jacob hates me and it's not that I think he would, but if he showed you it by accident or something-"

"It's fine, Carmen."

It didn't feel fine with the way his body seemed to be shaking.

"Calm down." I ordered, then felt stupid, but it seemed to work. He kissed my cheek.

"I'm sorry..."

"It's fine. You have nothing to be sorry about. I just... I didn't want you to think that I'd cheat on you or something, because I never would." I honestly meant it as well. I'd been cheated on before and it feels like crap. If I _ever_ made Embry feel like that, I'd go and ask Edward Cullen to drink me.

"I know you wouldn't." He kissed me lightly on the lips, but pulled back and cleared his throat. "Is that what that smell is?"

"I-I _smell_ like him?" I subconsciously lifted my arm to my face and breathed in, but I couldn't smell anything.

"Uh... yeah... I mean, you don't smell bad or anything-"

"Guess I should just take this sweater off then." I smirked, pulling the neck over my head. Embry's eyes widened before he looked up at the ceiling. I laughed and pulled him into a hug. "Better?"

"You're not wearing a shirt."

"Yeah." I laughed again, and lay my head on his shoulder.

* * *

"What's a Vince?" Scarlett asked me the next day on the beach. I glared at Jacob, who looked at Nessie.

"You weren't supposed to tell everyone."

"Yeah, but it's not as if you mind." She giggled. He laughed too, and they just basked in their perfectness.

"Carmen?" Scarlett said, quietly. I looked back to her. "What's a Vince?"

"My ex-boyfriend from San Diego."

"Ew. San Diego. Ew. The sun." Scarlett curled her lip, and Seth burst into laughter.

_Ugh. I hate couples! _

"He's coming to La Push today." I mumbled. I swear that I heard Embry's neck break from snapping round to look at me so fast.

"What?"

"He's coming to hang out at the beach."

"But this is our beach!" Nessie whined. "We don't want him! We love Embry!"

"Embry! Embry!" Scarlett chanted, then Nessie joined in.

"I love Embry too, but Vince came all this way to see me, so I can at least be a good person and be his friend!"

"_Or_, we could force him onto Logan!" Quil grinned.

* * *

"This ain't a beach." Vince said as soon as we got to the sand. I shrugged and led him to where I saw most of the group still were, a couple of hours after we'd been there in the morning. "And it's fricken freezing."

"It's actually a pretty nice day for La Push..."

"Really?" He stopped walking in shock and disgust. I shook my head at him and grabbed his forearm, pulling him down the beach. "La Push is a stupid name too."

"Kind of... but I like it." I mumbled, arriving at our group.

"Carmen!" Quil waved. Claire waved her little hand too, copying him.

"Hey guys, this is Vince... Vince, these are my friends." I motioned to the group. "Where's Embry?"

"I'm right here." He said from behind me, before I felt arms wrap around me and pull me back into his chest, effectively removing my hand from Vince's arm.

"Hey!" I turned to give him a real hug, before pulling away and standing before him and Vince. "Vince, this is Embry, Embry, this is Vince."

They stared off for a little, before Scarlett broke the silence, standing on the opposite side to me.

"Are you, like, from Jersey Shore?"

Embry burst into laughter, and I could hear everyone laughing behind us.

"What? No!"

I held in my laughter, but I couldn't stop from giggling. Vince was very defensive about his looks, because not many people said bad things about his appearance.

"Oh. Okay, then." She walked away, back to Seth, who was laughing his head off. "What?" She asked him, making everyone laugh even more.

"My dad doesn't let me watch that. He says I'm too intelligent." Nessie said, innocently.

"Your friends are freaks." Vince whispered in my ear, suddenly very close. I heard a growl, and almost laughed.

_Almost._

"Man!" Vince shot up straight. "Did you hear that? It was like a mountain lion or something!" He looked around the trees, and everyone burst back into laughter.

"Yeah. The mountain lions get really close to the beach." Embry said, his face completely serious. I laughed as Vince's expression grew more panicked. He looked at me, then his face turned, and he glared at Embry.

"Who the hell even are you?" He stepped closer to Embry.

"I'm Carmen's boyfriend. Who the hell are you?"

"_I'm_ Carmen's boyfriend!"

"It's like Jerry Springer for the supernatural world!" Quil whispered, really loudly.

"Carmen?!" Vince asked, and their heads both snapped towards me.

"Uh... I..."

"You son of a bitch!" Vince yelled at Embry, before pulling his fist back.

"No, Vince, don't-!"

"Damn it! What the hell are you? Stone?!" Vince clutched at his fist.

"Sorry." Embry muttered, not sounding the slightest bit sincere.

"I'm out of here." Vince stormed off, and I felt bad... I did feel worse at the thought of the phone calls I'd receive from everyone when he got home and told them.

"Sorry!" I yelled after him, but he didn't turn around or stop.

"Geez, Carmen." Quil said. "The guy gets dumped _and_ a broken hand? Rough night."

"Shut up!"

* * *

Embry took me home later, after I'd sat mostly silently at the beach. He stopped outside of my house, but before I could get out, he grabbed my wrist.

"Carmen..."

"You didn't have to do that. You didn't have to provoke him into punching you. _You're_ my boyfriend, you know that. I told you yesterday. You didn't have to do that!"

"He's a Guido jerk and he deserves a hell of a lot worse than a broken hand for everything he's done to you!"

"But I didn't tell you all about him! I told a wolf I didn't know! One who couldn't use that against me!"

"Carmen-" His voice was softer.

"No!" I cut him off, still pissed. "Did it ever occur to you that I didn't want anyone to know everything about me and him? It's private!"

"I'm sorry-"

"Just forget it." I all but ran out and to my house, going straight to my room and collapsing on my bed.

_And he doesn't even know about the baby-thing yet..._

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this! :D Short-ish, sorry! Let me know what you want to see happening! I have some ideas, a big one involving a couple of big time skips! :D**

**Let me know in a review! :D**


	19. HIATUS

Hey guys! You may have noticed that both of my stories are on hiatus, and that's purely because I haven't had time and I hate leaving it unexplained, so I'm just gonna say that they'll be updated soon, and this 'chapter' will be deleted and replaced with a new one :) Thanks!


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